Rating: 
Summary: A Good for Introdutry book for beginer. Not expert
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.
Rating: 
Summary: VERY limited audience
Review: Technical computer books are pricey enough that I normally browse a book pretty carefully before deciding to buy it. 'Oracle 9i: A Beginner's Guide', on the other hand, was an impulsive purchase that I regretted immediately. Time spent trying to get some use out of it has only hardened my opinion.
As an experienced Sybase DBA trying then to set up Oracle at home on Linux, I wanted three things primarily: Clear and complete installation and configuration instructions to supplement Oracle's disorganized and hit-or-miss instructions; Clear explanations of Oracle's architecture and unique features; and a good introduction to Oracle PL/SQL.
This book scored only one out of three. The two chapters on PL/SQL I found pretty useful. However, the material on architecture and features is confusing, largely because the writing is not well structured into main topics and subtopics. It also fails to provide good illustrations or to relate the architecture to concerns of installation and configuration. For instance, we are told about the function of redo logs, rollback segments, and undo tablespaces in vague and general terms, whereas a DBA needs to know precisely what they do. Rollback segments and undo tablespaces appear to serve basically the same purpose, according to my reading of the book. Should both be used, else what are the criteria for choosing one over the other? The text never gets there.
The installation instructions deserve a paragraph of their own. The index does not even list "installation", which probably is appropriate since the material covering installation was removed from this edition of the book, albeit incompletely. The 1 1/2 pages (!) beginning on page 84 bear the heading "So, You're the New Oracle 9i Database", perhaps the silliest of the book's many typographical errors. Then the first paragraph tantalizes "We are going to do a high-level, step-by-step walkthrough of putting up your first Oracle 9i database. Get yourself a cup of coffee and a comfortable chair; for those of you in business class, raise the footrestbeforehand...here we go:"...and then...the flight suddenly is over while the coffee is still warm. A note in italics advises the reader that "In earlier releases of the Beginner's Guide, we walked you through the Oracle server installation. With Oracle8i and now Oracle 9i, it's just too big a topic to cover in a book this size."
Well, ladies and gentlemen, I suggest that they should have just made the book bigger, and cut out all the gimpy, insulting attampts at humor, and the long-winded first chapter in praise of Oracle, Inc. Not every book from Oracle Press is this bad. I have browsed 'Oracle 9i DBA Handbook' by Kevin Loney and Marlene Theriault, and it is far better written, concise, organized, and informative (As always, take a look and make sure it covers the material you need). See also O'Reilly's 'Oracle 9i Essentials', or better yet the new edition for 10g.
Rating:
Summary: Piece of ...
Review: This book is a nothing but a piece of junk. It covers a lot of basic UNIMPORTANT details. It introduces you to all the different subjects from programming to configuring but doesn't include the information of HOW TO. All talk and no action. A TOTAL WASTE of my time, money and resources. I'm posting this review so in hoping that no one will waste their time and money on this piece of waste. DON'T BUY THIS BOOK!
Rating: 
Summary: Don't bother
Review: This book promises much but in the end fails to deliver. Oracle started off as a database engine but overtime a lot of products have been added. This book could tie it all together but doesn't; it ends up being an introduction to SQL, PL/SQL and DBA tasks, things which are better handled by specialist books. Some sections of the book sound like they have been written by the marketing section. The history section completely ignores the importance of Forms 2.3 and 3 in the growth of Oracle, which is probably good because they don't mention the disaster that was Forms 4.0. I certainly have a problem with the jokes and diversions. As an attempt to excuse a misleading Oracle error message, a whole paragraph is devoted to what happens if your automobile fuel cap is not closed properly. There is a reference to a wild horse chase, to give the wild geese a break. This makes it very difficult for my Japanese colleagues to understand. If I could say one thing to the authors it would be "you are not funny." If you are very new to Oracle then it may be useful, but for anyone who knows about Oracle (or computers) then it is a waste of time. You will have to go on and read more advanced books anyway, jump the fluff in this book and get stuck into some serious books. I might give this book to my father so he can get an idea of what I do.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice coverage of database concepts and internals.
Review: Wow, there is a lot of unfair bashing on this book. This book covered exactly what its cover title said... "...A Beginner's Guide. Learn the essentials of Oracle..." Learn the essentials of Oracle was described very well. You get the feel of how the internals of Oracle go. If you are in a job interview and the interviewer asks some basics like the SGA, cursor or what is net8? You'll be laughed at for not having this simple yet broad database knowledge. Very few books describes the Oracle internals and general memory structure of all databases. It sure beats reading the white papers and manuals on the Oracle website. Anyway, this was the section that I thought was highly significant and it distingueshed itself from other books. I think some of the bad reviews below were not expecting what the book's title asys. "Learn the essentials of Oracle." If you want to buy a book on how-to write SQL and learn nothing else, then there are some SQL books targeted solely for only SQL writing.
Rating:
Summary: Nice coverage of database concepts and internals.
Review: Wow, there is a lot of unfair bashing on this book. This book covered exactly what its cover title said... "...A Beginner's Guide. Learn the essentials of Oracle..." Learn the essentials of Oracle was described very well. You get the feel of how the internals of Oracle go. If you are in a job interview and the interviewer asks some basics like the SGA, cursor or what is net8? You'll be laughed at for not having this simple yet broad database knowledge. Very few books describes the Oracle internals and general memory structure of all databases. It sure beats reading the white papers and manuals on the Oracle website. Anyway, this was the section that I thought was highly significant and it distingueshed itself from other books. I think some of the bad reviews below were not expecting what the book's title asys. "Learn the essentials of Oracle." If you want to buy a book on how-to write SQL and learn nothing else, then there are some SQL books targeted solely for only SQL writing.
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