Oracle SQL Interactive Workbook (2nd Edition)

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Summary: On a desert island querying dbases, have this book with you.
Review: Could you master a foreign language with a reference work? If so, then this book is not for you because you're already a guru. Oracle Press books handle that nicely. SQL is analogous to a foreign language, and most people learn foreign languages through extensive exercises that build towards mastery. This book does that, and, as such, there's little out there that compares. If you patiently enter every SQL query in this book and break it down into its constituent parts, examine each query's output, do every exercise even if it means looking at the solution as you solve it, complete every "Test Your Thinking" exercise, redo chapters 4, 5, and 7 at every opportunity, and think, this book will become the most extensive SQL reference work you can imagine--that's right SQL, not simply Oracle's implementation of it. This is because this book shows you how to apply SQL in ways you may not have imagined (my brain still hurts). The drawbacks: (1) Oracle dbase software required for the companion dbase--don't get this book if you don't have access to Oracle because it relies on intimate knowledge of the companion dbase, (2) dizziness from the frequency of your hand smacking your forehead when asking yourself "Why didn't I think of that"? The prose is succinct and elegant in its clarity except for chapter 7, where the need for and role of correlative subqueries, inline views, and scalar subquery expressions and the theory behind them could have been explicated better, particularly where and when they can/should substitute for equijoins. Specifically, a one-stop-shopping set of guidelines as to when these types of subqueries are desirable over their equijoin counterparts would have been very helpful.

Rating:
Summary: This book is excellent
Review: I really liked reading and doing the lessons in this book. The hands-on exercises are fantastic. Better yet, there were a few things I didn't understand clearly, and so I e-mail the author and she answers any questions that I might have. There are a few minor glitches in the book, some proof-read errors, which most of them are corrected on their web site which are listed on theot errata page. I've already reported a couple errors that I found and will update their proof-read error page. One annoying thing was having to turn back and forth to the back of the book to see the database schema diagram. The best thing to do is just photo copy the diagram so you don't have to constantly turn to the back of the book while doing the exercises.

Rating:
Summary: This book is excellent
Review: I really liked reading and doing the lessons in this book. The hands-on exercises are fantastic. Better yet, there were a few things I didn't understand clearly, and so I e-mail the author and she answers any questions that I might have. There are a few minor glitches in the book, some proof-read errors, which most of them are corrected on their web site which are listed on theot errata page. I've already reported a couple errors that I found and will update their proof-read error page. One annoying thing was having to turn back and forth to the back of the book to see the database schema diagram. The best thing to do is just photo copy the diagram so you don't have to constantly turn to the back of the book while doing the exercises.

Rating:
Summary: Book is excellent!
Review: I really liked reading and doing the lessons in this book. The hands-on exercises are fantastic. Better yet, there were a few things I didn't understand clearly, and so I e-mailed the author and she answered any questions that I had. There are a few minor glitches in the book, some proof-read errors, which most of them are corrected on their web site which are listed on the errata page. I've already reported a couple errors that I found and they will update their proof-read error page. One annoying thing was having to turn back and forth to the back of the book to see the database schema diagram. The best thing to do is just photo copy the diagram so you don't have to constantly turn to the back of the book while doing the exercises.

Rating:
Summary: Bite-size and Interactive
Review: I teach college computer classes, although my BA & MA are in linguistics. The only computer course I've actually taken was a non-credit course in Oracle SQL. I was pretty satisfied with it.

I'm only in lab 2 of 16 in this book, and have already learned MANY new things! It's very well written, giving you a little, testing you a little, etc. I strongly recommend it.

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Summary: Confusion Reigns
Review: I used this book and another interactive type book (same publisher) for two courses I was taking in ORACLE SQL and DBA Management. While I cannot complain about the substance of either book, the layout/format of both books will drive the average person to the brink of insanity and make the learning process that much more difficult. Exercises/Labs are presented and numbered in an incoherent and most annoying manner (e.g. lab 4.1, 4.1.1, 4.1.2; 4.2, 4.2.1, 4.2.2 etc), but the solutions to these labs do not appear right after the exercise itself (where they belong in an interactive book);but rather, the solutions for many of the exercises appear several pages later. Trying to go back and forth between the exercises and the answers will drive many people batty. Try to look through the book and review the formatting before deciding to buy it. As for the review questions at the end of the chapter, again, instead of having the answers follow the questions, you have to turn to the back of the book - most annoying. Finally, at the end of each chapter, there are a series of questions designed to "Test your knowledge", but don't bother looking anywhere in the book for the answers to the questions - there are none! Finally do not buy the book unless you have access to Oracle Software as you can download a database and use SQl Plus to try out the SQL statements. Better yet, buy a different book!

Rating:
Summary: Confusion Reigns
Review: If you want to learn Oracle SQL, then go ahead and buy this book. The learning modules are short and bite-sized which facilitates the learning process. The best aspect of this program is the hands-on learning process. When you finish this program you will indeed know Oracle SQL. This is the best book available for learning Oracle SQL.

Rating:
Summary: Best Book for Learning Oracle SQL
Review: If you want to learn Oracle SQL, then go ahead and buy this book. The learning modules are short and bite-sized which facilitates the learning process. The best aspect of this program is the hands-on learning process. When you finish this program you will indeed know Oracle SQL. This is the best book available for learning Oracle SQL.

Rating:
Summary: Book lacks detail
Review: The book informs you of various sql commands, but fails to give you the general syntax. If what you are trying to do has not been explicitely done in the book, it is unlikely to find what you are looking for in the book. The book is truly a workbook, and nothing else, and should not be purchased as an oracle sql refrence book.

Rating:
Summary: Book lacks detail
Review: The book informs you of various sql commands, but fails to give you the general syntax. If what you are trying to do has not been explicitely done in the book, it is unlikely to find what you are looking for in the book. The book is truly a workbook, and nothing else, and should not be purchased as an oracle sql refrence book.