Rating: 
Summary: Typos and inconsistent
Review: After only reviewing the book for about 45 minutes, I found some glaring problems.Over fifty pages to start the book on how to use Google and usenet newsgroups?!? I'm a beginner with Oracle 9i, not with a computer or on the internet. How about save the trees or provide say, ten pages on installation or command line reference (see last point). On page 11, "The company reaches 4,223 billion in sales" (That's over 4 trillion) Then sales fall to "5,684 million" in the next paragraph. OK. On Page 63, "NOTE: Even though Oracle runs on a wide assortment of computers, we will concentrate on Sun Solaris..." Then on to page 287, Oracle Enterprise Manager is breezed over with instructions on how to use it in Win 2K! Most of the screen shots in the book are windows dialogs. Not even a single note on use of the command line tools to start oem!
Skip this one!
Rating: 
Summary: Good for beginners
Review: As titled, this book is a BEGINNER's guide. I've been an Oracle DBA for 9 years and am searching for a book to introduce the Oracle database to college students. You are not going to effectively administer Oracle databases by buying this book, however, you are going to be introduced to the concepts and get good introductory examples as well as a guide on where and how to get started.
Rating: 
Summary: Overly vague...not quite intended for the absolute beginner
Review: Being new to oracle databases this book basically highlighted the new features of oracle 9i while attempting to provide a beginners overview of the Oracle database.
The book also does not provide a download of the databases used in the code examples. As a true beginner, i would have liked to follow the code examples in the book, and try out SQL commands. This would have provided me a better understanding of what the author was explaining, as well as 'try out' the code examples.
However, if you are seekeing OCP certification and have a fundamental understanding of SQL and databases this book may assist you with converting to the Oracle structure. I've read the whole book without any Oracle or database experience, and was able to gain a better grasp of the architecture during OCP training courses.
As with all manuals i read there's always useful information contained within them, so i would not completely dismiss this book.
Rating:
Summary: Don't buy This. Worst book I ever read!!!...
Review: Don't buy this book!!!
It tries to cover everything, but it really covers nothing.
The book is not organized in any way. It talks about a lot of things, but it doesn't really explain anything in detail. The book provides little bit of how-tos without "any" explanation.
Once again, strongly recommend that you don't buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Don't buy This. Worst book I ever read!!!...
Review: Don't buy this book!!!
It tries to cover everything, but it really covers nothing.
The book is not organized in any way. It talks about a lot of things, but it doesn't really explain anything in detail. The book provides little bit of how-tos without "any" explanation.
Once again, strongly recommend that you don't buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Don't buy this one!
Review: I am a beginner in Oracle so that I have bought this book in a hope that it might enlighten me. It did not.
This book does not deliver what it is promising to deliver. Authors try to cover too many subjects, however they end up with incomplete explanations. It does not give you an overview either: a few pictures of trees, but not a big picture of the forest. Don't waste your money on this one.
Rating:
Summary: Not for a beginner
Review: I am truly a beginner in Oracle; I have experience as a computer programmer and with SQL Server 2000, but never really have played around with Oracle. So I was looking for a beginner's guide to get me started. Sadly, I picked this one because I thought since it's from Oracle, it would have the best resources at hand.
Almost immediately, I was disappointed: Chapter 1 is a tribute to how amazing Oracle is and how godlike Larry Ellison is and it's filled with pages and pages of revenues and sales. What a waste of paper. Then Chapter 2 tells me how to use newsgroups and Google: more wasted paper. I come to Chapter 3 and I think I finally get into learning something. Then I notice they concentrate on Sun Solaris as the operating system which isn't very helpful to a person trying to learn this on his own at home. What follows is a list of files and processes: very dry and certainly over the head of a beginner trying to start using Oracle. Then on page 84 I read, "In earlier releases of the Beginner's Guide, we walked you through the Oracle server installation. With Oracle 8i and now 9i, it's too big a topic to cover in a book this size." That's how they start out their step-by-step walkthrough of setting up your first Oracle database. Oh, the last step reads, "12. Read the rest of this book." To me, the book wasted 80 pages then tells me installation would take too long. Very disappointing.
At this point, the small jokes the authors throw in are just insulting as the book slips into unreadability.
Perhaps this book is good for someone sitting at an already-configured database terminal at their work running on Solaris. And I would also think you'd have to have some experience running some previous version of Oracle. This book is certainly NOT for beginners. I hope I didn't waste my money so that after I read a REAL beginner's guide, I can come back to this one and learn something.
Rating: 
Summary: 14 year non-Oracle development veteran gets a good overview
Review: I have been developing commercial information systems applications for 14 years and though I have actually worked with Oracle SQL and PL/SQL at the programming level on numerous occasions I really didn't know how this product was structured, put together. This book provided me with the historical and conceptual overview of the Oracle database product and company that I was looking for. I think that this is what the book was written for and for this it deserves 5 stars. I can now map my next steps of study and practice with confidence.
Rating:
Summary: Oracle9i Beginner's Guide
Review: I really liked this book. We are studying databases and Oracle and I needed a book about Oracle and how to use it. The book gave me everything I needed. I was able to take the information in the book and create a great basic knowledge of Oracle9i. With this book I was on my way to learning more about Oracle. I read the reviews here and I have to disagree with the information. I find the book really useful and a great starting point. I was looking for a beginner's guide and that is exactly what I got from the book. Thanks.
Rating:
Summary: Nice coverage of database concepts and internals.
Review: Like title said, the book is for beginner and cover very wide area, It has include everything you need to know such a SGA, redo log, control file. It also cover package, procedure and function, Java and Form 6i. In other word, it cover from DBA to developer and show you the way where you want to move on. However, each chapter can become a Book itself. For those people who do not know what oracle is about and what sort of Component is involved as a Oracle DBA or Developer . This is book to go. For those who are already family and want a detail information on how to Master on a specific tecni such as PL/SQL, DBA. Sorry and this is not the book. BTW, I think the O'Really PL/SQL is a good book too.
| 
