Rating: 
Summary: New ideas for design
Review: Before reading this book, I was getting tired of books that just repeated the manual, adding little information.
This resourceful book is for experienced DBAs / developers that want new ideas about Oracle database design.
Rating:
Summary: Endlessly useful, beautifully written
Review: Denizens of comp.databases.oracle.server have long known Mr. Lewis to be a knowledgeable and articulate writer about the workings of the Oracle RDBMS. I was delighted to hear that he was writing a book, and this one does not disappoint.Lewis seems to know exactly when to give a broad overview of a subject, and when to zoom in on a telling detail. In contrast, many books about Oracle are either numbingly boring lists of minutiae, or frustratingly useless, detail-free summaries. Lewis is such a good writer that one could, I imagine, pick up this book and read it front to back. I suspect most readers will do as I have -- find chapters that address some specific problem. This week I'm reading chapters 6 & 7 on indexing. It's certainly going to save my company thousands of dollars, and it looks like it's going to speed up the database a good bit, too. If I can make my boss and our users happy at the same time, I'd call that the best of all possible results, and "Practical Oracle 8i" the best Oracle book I've read.
Rating:
Summary: Endlessly useful, beautifully written
Review: Denizens of comp.databases.oracle.server have long known Mr. Lewis to be a knowledgeable and articulate writer about the workings of the Oracle RDBMS. I was delighted to hear that he was writing a book, and this one does not disappoint. Lewis seems to know exactly when to give a broad overview of a subject, and when to zoom in on a telling detail. In contrast, many books about Oracle are either numbingly boring lists of minutiae, or frustratingly useless, detail-free summaries. Lewis is such a good writer that one could, I imagine, pick up this book and read it front to back. I suspect most readers will do as I have -- find chapters that address some specific problem. This week I'm reading chapters 6 & 7 on indexing. It's certainly going to save my company thousands of dollars, and it looks like it's going to speed up the database a good bit, too. If I can make my boss and our users happy at the same time, I'd call that the best of all possible results, and "Practical Oracle 8i" the best Oracle book I've read.
Rating:
Summary: Great Introduction
Review: I can't imagine a better introduction to the Oracle RDBMS. The author's conversational style is more akin to a discussion among colleagues, rather than a professor lecturing a student. A quick scan of the table of contents reveals a clearly organized sequence of topics, making it easy for the reader to dive into a subject of particular interest. By randomly scanning through a half dozen chapters, I was able to quickly develop a solid feel for Oracle's implementation of tables, objects, partitioning, indexing, and data integrity. This text provides a great overview of the Oracle RDBMS, and a solid foundation for any potential database administrators.
Rating:
Summary: read from cover-to-cover immediately after certification
Review: I have dozens of Oracle books and this the single best one. I think I'm going to get extra copies so I can assign reading it to everyone who works for me. The content should be the basic starting point of knowledge for serious development and management. I just wish it was updated for 9i
Rating:
Summary: Go Jonathan - Oracle information for the advanced DBA
Review: Jonathan has written a book, or more a series of essays, that digs deep into the foundations of Oracle and seems to ooze with information and experience. I must admit that when I first picked up the book, I found it perhaps less organized than I would like, and this makes finding things sometimes a bit more difficult, and might seemingly disqualify this book as a desktop reference book. You probably won't be picking up this book to find out what the syntax for creating a partitioned index should look like, but thats ok, there is a great need for books that go beyond reference, and this one does in spades. The indexing is pretty good, so the lack of super orginization is mitigated. The only other complaint that I could make about this book is that it was not long enough. You come away thinking that the author probably has a great more to share with us, but just didn't have the pages. Jonathan leaves you with substance, and the benefit of experience and knowledge beyond the standard set of Oracle documentation. He has given the Oracle DBA food for thought, and for that, this book is worth five stars and the price.
Rating:
Summary: read from cover-to-cover immediately after certification
Review: Once you pass your certification, get this book and read it from cover to cover, or at least the bulk of the chapters. It will go fast and enjoyable, and it will give an extra perspective over what you just learned. As another reviewer said, don't worry about it not being 9i.
Rating: 
Summary: needs more improvement
Review: This book lacks approach to develop programmer'sthinking but i think good book to have knowledge. sultan zahir khan
Rating:
Summary: Best Oracle book I've read
Review: This is arguably the best oracle book I've read so far. It is lucid, brilliant and is unlike most of the other books that just repeats what is in metalink or Oracle manuals. The book describes the key Oracle8i features and also contains invaluable practical advice based on the author's extensive experience. Also check out the author's web site at www.jlcomp.demon.co.uk for updates and errata related to the book. Highly recommended for any dba/programmer working with Oracle8i. Congrats Jonathan for a really great book.
Rating:
Summary: The title says it all - PRACTICAL!
Review: This is not like most of the other 1000-page tomes about Oracle (although some of them are excellent), in that it gets "under the hood" of just how Oracle works. I find that I understand how to use something much better if I have some idea of how it works, and Jonathan gives it to you in great detail. Even though this is a very technical book, it is easy to read if you are already an experienced Oracle DBA or developer. It is well written and very useful. Highly recommended.
| 
