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36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good for beginners but not shallow, January 3, 2002
This review is from: Beginning Databases with PostgreSQL (Paperback)
This book from Wrox assumes very little database knowledge and lives in the real world where most desktop computers run Windows not Linux. It has the kind of quality and attention to detail you expect from Wrox, but with only two authors it has a consistent feel to it. A colleague of mine thought it was strange that the book included information on how to access PostgreSQL data via MS Excel/ODBC, but for many users Excel is how you access and manipulate data. Details like how to configure an ODBC data source are covered down to the level of screen shots of the appropriate forms. Note they mean it when they use the word "Beginning" in the title. It includes a brief history of database types, Relational Database Principles in Chapter 2 and Database Design in chapter 12. Chapter 5 covers the graphical tools that can be used with PostgreSQL. It covers both the Postgres specific tools like pgAdmin and pgAccess, and how you can use a generic database tool like MS Access with ODBC. It takes the view of PostgreSQL as a relational database and generally skips over its more exotic features such as user defined data types or Object Database features. Despite more than 10 years of experience using SQL databases I did find myself saying "a ha, true" when reading the database design chapter. This was when reading the paragraphs on modelling a hierarchical relationship. It explains how you could do it, but shouldn't and how you probably ought to do it. I even picked up a few pointers on JDBC programming that I intend to try out, despite having spent more than a year doing intensive JDBC for a living. It would be excellent as an undergraduate course book on practical database work. Four chapters 14-17 are devoted to accessing PostgreSQL via different language. These cover C, PHP, Perl and Java. I was surprised they didn't include some ODBC/Visual Basic examples, though there would be very little difference between programming using PostgreSQL and Access or SQL Server as the back end for this type of programming. All 33 pages of chapter 10 are devoted to Stored Procedures and Triggers, a PostgreSQL specific technology but a very important one. In a year of using PostgreSQL I have yet to use this technology but when I do this will be the documentation I turn to. The windows specific information is particularly handy as most of the information on the web concentrates on the Linux platform. I managed to configure up PostgreSQL under NT from information I gathered on the web, but it would have been very useful to have had this book to hand to help. The book includes screen shots from installing the Cygwin system for emulating some of the Unix APIs under Windows. Until I read this book I didn't know it was possible to run PostgreSQL as a Windows NT service, despite reading everything I could find about PostgreSQL on the web. I had run it from a cygwin bash prompt but that approach means you need the little black window of the console running whenever you want the database running. More information is needed on PostgreSQL under Microsoft operating systems as people tend to chose MS SQL Server by default without consideration for the merits of the products. People who are Open Source fans will consider MySQL despite it's very considerable limitations. Whatever you might read about the new improved versions of MySQL, PostgreSQL is still a much more complete database solution. PostgreSQL can offer the features of a full relational database with all the benefits of Open Source and this books fills a large gap in the 3rd party support requirements. Pros
Well written, covers Microsoft operating systems, nice diagrams and screen shots Cons
Aimed at beginners. Treats PostgreSQL as an SQL standard database and doesn't cover more exotic capabilities.
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ignoring typos & grammar, a great introduction to PostgreSQL, April 20, 2002
This review is from: Beginning Databases with PostgreSQL (Paperback)
I've been a PostgreSQL user for over a year, but I wanted to know more about databases in general and PostgreSQL in particular. "Beginning Databases with PostgreSQL" (BDWP) answered the questions I had and introduced me to the power of this open source database. My favorite aspect of the book was its use of "Try It Out" sections, where readers experiment with sample tables provided at the publisher's web site. These hands-on exercises reinforced the lessons of the text. I was able to install, configure, and manipulate a PostgreSQL database on FreeBSD following the authors' guidance. Windows fans can follow the authors' instructions for running PostgreSQL on Cygwin. Few other books give such attention to detail. The book's major drawback is its sloppy grammar and frequent, repeating typos. The term 'However' appeared in many sentences for no good reason. Commas also popped up in odd locations. Thanks to the publisher's web site errata listing, I was able to correct most of the book's technical mistakes. Still, these other errors were unnerving. Since I'm not a developer, I didn't pay much attention to chapters 13-17, where the authors describe ways to access a database using C, PHP, Perl, and Java. I was content with the user- and administrator-based material of the first 12 chapters. If you use a PostgreSQL database or need to create one, I recommend BDWP. You won't gain insight into the deeper mysteries of database administration, but the hands-on lessons will provide enough tools to get you started.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent introduction to the greatest free database, July 18, 2002
This review is from: Beginning Databases with PostgreSQL (Paperback)
This is a very well-written introduction to relational databases and PostgreSQL in particular. The authors meticulously describe how to install the database on both a Windows and a Linux platform, how to compile the source, how to setup ODBC drivers to enable access to the database through MS Access, and all the various free utilities that exist. They then walk the reader very carefully through a thorough introduction to SQL, database design, normal forms, and the built-in functions of the database. The final section of the book presents a variety of methods for writing front-end applications using either PHP, C, Perl, or Java. As a Java programmer, I found the Java chapter very well-written. Overall, this is a good beginning book. It will not turn you into an expert on database design, nor does it offer an encyclopedic PostgreSQL reference. But it is a perfect starting point for those who have chosen to explore this great database system.
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