Rating: 
Summary: I was dissapointed
Review: Sorry to disagree with all the other reviewers but I have some major misgivings about this book. Firstly, the author seems convinced that Relational Databases are so-called because of the way the different tables are related. If you've ready any serious books about databases (e.g. Date) you will know this simply is not so.And what about all the different versions of Oracle: Standard Edition, Enterprise Edition, Personal Oracle, Oracle Lite, the Oracle 8i appliance? There's no mention of these which is a pretty poor show for a book calling itself 'The Complete Reference'. I suppose if your boss suddenly says to you, "By the way, we're switching to Oracle next week." this could be a useful book, but if you're an application programmer charged with choosing a database platform this book is not much help at all.
Rating: 
Summary: It's a huge book!... and it's pretty good
Review: This book covers several things extremely well: Oracle 8 and relational databasing. It is not the book you want to get if you are looking for in-depth help with the SQL query language. The authors use the example of old, paper records back in the 1800's and how they could have improved storage of these records by using an Oracle database today. I liked the example throughout because once you understand the thinking behind these paper records, it was much easier to understand the complex database concepts. There are several parts to the book. This is how they are broken up: Critical Databse concepts, SQL From Beginner to Expert (I think this section is a little over-inflated, I don't think it really makes you a SQL expert), the Hitchhiker's Guide to Oracle8 Data Dictionary, Designing for Productivity and an alphabetical reference (I like this section!) Basic database concepts are covered extremely well: triggers, stored queries, stored procedures, SQLPLUS, etc. For advanced database gurus, there are sections on object-oriented concepts, snapshots, and other advanced topics such as large objects and ConText. I can't give it four stars-- even though it's a reference, it's still way to dry of a read and if it's missing one thing, it's solid, in-depth examples. However, it's big and pretty comprehensive for the price you're gonna pay.
Rating: 
Summary: This book helps me to undertand better oracle
Review: I have three years developing in Oracle Tools (Developer and Designer), but i am not an Oracle DBA. I have found this book helps me to understand better many oracle8 concepts and remember some topics like security, views, snapshots, DECODE command and more. Also the book brings some tips and examples very easy to understand and try. Fewer chapters like Introduction to PL/SQL are elementary, but for many people without experience in oracle language could be usefull. In resume, if you are not an Oracle DBA expert, this book is for you.
Rating:
Summary: Broad but Shallow
Review: This book is very broad and covers a LOT of material. Unfortunately, unless it was about 8,000 pages long, it wouldn't be a perfect reference. I DO use it when my other Oracle books don't give me enough information (i.e. DBA Handbook and ORA8 PL/SQL). I think this one also comes with a CD of the contents in digital form. VERY handy reference material.
Rating:
Summary: The Bible for Oracle
Review: Awesome reference book for New and experienced oracle users. This book has come to save the times.
Rating:
Summary: Great overview/basic reference
Review: This book is a must for anyone involved with databases. I first purchased this book for a college class, but now still use it as a basic reference for my daily work. This is a great overview book for someone with little or now programming experience. However, if you have been in the business for more than 1 year, I wouldn't recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Reference - NOT how to...
Review: Not bad if all you want is a large book of definitions with little how to.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Oracle Reference
Review: Very useful in pointing the hidden and undocumented sides of many functions. Also a solid reference for OCP Exam 1.
Rating:
Summary: Forget the CD but otherwise COMPLETE
Review: I dunno what the previous person is saying about not being about to learn SQL from this book; you most definitely can. This book is incredibly comprehensive with all the DCL, DML & DDL commands fully explained and listed, but alas nothing on the architecture, performance or troubleshooting... But there are other books for that so no worry.
Rating:
Summary: Good Solid Reference.
Review: This is a good book. I've gone through it in detail. It's not an advanced book; however, great to learn the fundamental principals, a necessity for any programmer -
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