Rating: 
Summary: For general reader only
Review: I feel quiet disappointed reading this book. It's in general written for people who want to know what Oracle is all about and not as an introduction to Oracle 8 database.There are too many things to be covered in this small book. From NT to UNIX and all the way down to Personal Oracle making it difficult to concentrate as a begineer. The example doesn't provide a starting ground. I sometimes have the feeling that the authors has assumed the user has read some of the Oracle documentation already. Also, some of the topic are not in the latest version. For example, Oracle Form 4.5 (oracle 7) is more focus then the new Form 5.0 which comes with Oracle 8 If you just want to know generally what Oracle is all about then this is for you.
Rating: 
Summary: It was great
Review: I have read Oracle (the complete Reference, Electronic edition) and all it talk about is SQL. This book talks about Forms, Reports, Loader, App. + database Tuning, backup + recovery, etc.. Just soo much more than just SQL which any programmer can pick up. For beginner, absolutely a great book.
Rating: 
Summary: A good start
Review: It's a good book if you don't have any idea what is a relational database. Sometimes it's boring to read, but it has a wide range of topics. The chapters are very well explained and it isn't about Oracle database only, it talks about SQL fundamentals, Oracle Forms, Oracle Reports, database tuning, Oracle Loader, PL/SQL, installation and so on. I like it to learn and as a reference.
Rating:
Summary: not recommended for the techies among you
Review: Poorly organised, dumbed-down version of the "Oracle: Complete Reference" published by the Oracle Press in 1995. Full of typos and verbosity; mostly misses the point it's trying to make and the examples haven't always been checked either. Try "Oracle Design" or the other books by the O'Reilly Press if you are trying to use the product in a development environment.
Rating: 
Summary: this must be a book written by two beginners
Review: So many errors. It makes me believe that it must be written by two beginners. Do not spend money and time on this book unless you want to be confused by these beginners.
Rating:
Summary: Not even good enough to get you started.
Review: Sure it shows you some SQL, it shows you how to do a little DBA. Does it should you how to do simple DBA tasks like list the tablespaces exist or what users exist on the system? How about simply just what tablespace you are in? This book is lacking in teaching just basic knowledge about Oracle.
Rating:
Summary: Not a no-nonsense book
Review: This book contains an inordinately large number of errors which is irritating since a beginner does not know right from wrong. The code-examples are not well explained and one would like to think that an introductory book would pay special attention to this aspect. On the whole, it is a fair introductory book.
Rating:
Summary: A good start in learning Oracle 8.
Review: This book covers all the topics, often in some detail. Lots of helpful anaologies to clear up the concepts. Quite a few examples. On the negative side, I do find the writing quality a little spotty, there are some tables that are messed up (minor complaint), and some of the material isn't always clearly explained. All in all, it's the best Oracle introductory text I've found. I have a little experience with Oracle 7.3 so much of the text was refresher.
Rating:
Summary: Not an Introduction/Beginner's Guide.... A Waste of Money
Review: This book does not cover any material well. In it's pathetic attempt to cover everything at a beginner's level it never complete explains anything. Examples are half done and do not allow you to get a true flavor of how to use a command. Don't waste your money!
Rating:
Summary: Overview material only
Review: This book is a good Oracle 8 overview, but contains MANY CODE MISPRINTS resulting in non-working examples and uncompilable code.
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