Customer Reviews

Database Processing: Fundamentals, Design, and Implementation, Ninth Edition

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

This textbook is, without question, one of the WORST I've ever come across - and I've read many. Not only have I had a significant amount of education (I'm currently working on a second master's degree) but have also spent many years teaching others (including graduate level courses). Considering that this is the ninth edition, it's hard to understand why anyone would continue to use it as an "introductory" text. Even the headings found on Amazon reviews from the last edition clearly highlight just some of the numerous problems that remain in this obscenely overpriced book; these include statements such as:

* Miserable Book
* Avoid - do NOT use book as reference do NOT use in a class!
* Not for the faint of heart
* Author knows, the rest of us guess
* NOT a good book for beginners

There have been so many complaints in my own introductory database class, that our instructor is now actively seeking another text to use instead of this one.

So, what exactly is wrong with this book? Plenty! Examples:

1. Verbose to an extreme - rambling discussions regarding topics that are only remotely related to the topic being covered.
2. Examples are filled with mistakes or are just plain wrong. My copy is now filled with corrections and comments from my instructor to NOT use the examples provided.
3. Chapter "summaries" are, more often than not, two or more full pages of solid text - and these are just the "summaries." Neither the author nor the editors of this book seem cognizant of just what a summary is - ever heard of bullet points, guys?
4. One of the most basic, primary, characteristics of quality teaching is the ability to "teach a little and then apply it." Instead, Kroenke bombards the senses with an ENORMOUS number of concepts in every single chapter, there is simply so much, that it is not possible to assimilate everything that is covered. Kroenke even has the audacity to note, in the introduction of one chapter near the beginning of the book, that readers should read the chapter "several times" in order to understand the material! Sure, it is often important to re-read SOME things but not entire chapters! Regardless of how many times you do attempt to get through the material - much remains incomprehensible due to horribly imcomprehensible presentation of the material!
5. Diagrams and other graphic materials are spread all over each chapter, although usually on pages other than their explanation. Not only does this make things extremely difficult when trying to understand them but the very fact that one must read an extensive amount of text just to even begin understanding what the example provides, before trying to figure out the exact concept that the example is trying the demonstrate, defeats the entire purpose of graphic examples in the first place!

I've now resorted to buying other books in order to understand what we're covering in our class. That has, without question, been FAR more useful than wasting anymore time with this nightmare.

I had to purchase this for an intro to Databases class. The author chooses to use vocabulary that easily confused EVERYONE taking this class.

We often joke before going into class. We all hate this book and wish another were in it's place. Since the textbook is hard to understand, it's caused alot of frustration for the class. Not everyone likes the class as much, BECAUSE the text is so verbose.

I know that I'll have to learn more about databases in the future and I've learned alot from other sources already. However, this piece of garbage will promptly go where it belongs when I finish this class.

In the burnpile, in my backyard. There, I will burn things that are useless, like this book.

I could return it to the bookstore. But that would mean someone else would suffer the same frustration. You could also argue that the bookstore would give me money for the book, when they do their annual book buyback.

I would naturally insist that they spend the money on textbooks that teach, not confuse and frustrate.

Perhaps the author should read George Orwell's Essay on how to write effectively: Politics and the English Language (1946)

Here's a link:

http://www.resort.com/~prime8/Orwell/patee.html

I am a student and I spent $120 for this book because it was required for my class. I am now having to find other books because this one is so difficult to use. Yes, almost every page has a pretty color graphic, but I would definitely have preferred more black+white images and clearer, less obtuse explanations. I will not keep this book in my library - as soon as class is over, I will be getting rid of this book.

I use this book to teach database course as part of information systems management program. The update to the 9th edition is a big relief to me since it makes considerable improvement from the 8th edition, though I still feel disappointed time by time during my preparation and teaching. The 9th edition perhaps is a quick fix to the 8th edition and a lot remain to be corrected or improved.

First, let me discuss some of the strengths of this book as textbook. This book covers not only relational database itself, but also the database applications, which is essential to build an in-depth understanding of database technology. It covers managing Oracle and SQL Server in two separate chapters, which makes it easier for instructors to tailor the book. It has extensive coverage of database access technologies that enhance the understanding of database processing if the presentation of such material is improved.

This book does contain quite a few vague and confusing discussions on some important issues and concepts, even to subjects as basic as entity, entity class and entity instance. This makes the book sometimes difficult for beginners and students and irritating for experienced practionaers.

In my opinion, the author sometimes deliver material without enough consideration of the course flow or the style of the book. For instance, the discussion of the synthesis of relations is in a very different tone from the rest of the book. There are many occations like this one that cause this book unnecessary difficult to read. Though the book has devoted entire two chapters to Oracle and SQL Server, it fails to provide an adequate coverage of database industry, vendors and products. It does not provide good overview for the architectures Oracle and SQL Server, either.

Upon reading and teaching this textbook, I have the impression that the author often fails to deliver adequate and correct discussions of many of the contemporary technologies widely used in the industry. For instance, the discussion of database access technologies contains many incomplete and incorrect statements. Often efforts are made more to unnecessary details other than important concepts. Apparently the author is teaching us something that he does not understand well.

Some of the newly added contents are not very well designed and organized. Part V is titled Database Access Standards. I do not understand why Chapter 14, with subjects such as OLAP, data warehouse, data administration, is placed as a chapter here. I do not understand either why the author does not consider XML be a part of Chapter 14. I believe the author should also cover data integration in this chapter. Though the author spends 3 chapters to discuss database access technology, I feel most of the efforts are devoted to lengthy and poor-written ASP/VBScript, and JSP codes that do not help much to the understanding of the concepts and should be covered by other books and courses. Surprisingly, the author does not cover multi-tier architecture. For me, merely one chapter to cover the latest client/server and Internet architectures, as well as the various data access layer implementations, including the conceptual coverage of the contemporary database access technologies such as ODBC, OLE DB, ADO, ADO.Net, JDBC, and object-relational mapping, will achieve more. I also suggest the author to enhance significantly the coverage for Chapter 14, since OLAP, data warehouse and data management and database administration are fundamental for database processing course. I believe the author should at least dedicate one chapter to OLAP, considering that fact that he wrote 3 chapters for database access technology alone.

Overall, I feel the database coverage of this text is far more professional than the database applications part, though I still hope he will do a better job next time for the database part.

At the website of the publisher of this book, it states that this book is "For undergraduate courses in Database Design, Introduction to Database Processing, Database Management and Design in departments of Business, Information Systems and Applied Computer Science". However, The book description of Amazon.com suggests that this book is "For database administrators, database designers, application programmers, or other professionals in the field who want a complete, up-to-date, easy-to-use database book". Of course, this is an almost impoosible mission. My opinion is that this book is for school study, provided you have an experienced and good instructor who may clarify the many issues that the author misrepresented or not explain well.

/* The statement and opinions expresses here are my own and do not necessarily represent those of my employer */

Isn't it odd, to say the least, at how some of the reviewers subject us to lengthy discourses on the virtues of the Kroenke's resume and ignore the actual content of this awful book? It's only too bad that they avoid the real problem with this incomprehensible and worthless text - it's not comprehensible! The Amazon review instructions specifically state, "Please be sure to focus your comments on the book's content." Therefore, let's suggest that Kroenke and his editors learn how to WRITE a book that others may understand. This books wanders and wanders and wanders through endless details and goes "nowhere fast" and "fast nowhere" at the same time. Even a cursory glance at this book will show just how excessively wordy this book is. (Could that be the reason why the publisher doesn't permit samples of this book to be viewed on Amazon?) No one in our class can understand it and our professor seems to have heard our cries loud and clear. He has shared this book with his colleagues, because we have complained, only to discover that the professors that ALREADY UNDERSTAND databases understand this book and those that do not SPEICALIZE in databases have difficulties with it. If our IT professors are having difficulties with the book, it's no wonder that we are having problems too. Our prof is now trying to provide us with a lot of other materials because this book is worthless.

I had previously reviewed this HORRENDOUS "book" but Amazon appears to have removed all reviews. So. . . here it is again. (Maybe they're stuck with too many in their inventory - let's hope so - NO ONE should buy this rambling mess.) The only good thing about Amazon's apparent removal of the previously posted reviews is that the first one appeared to have been written by someone close to the author - the ONLY review that gave this horrendously overpriced waste of paper a positive review.

This textbook is, without question, one of the WORST I've ever come across - and I've read many. Not only do I have a significant amount of education (I'm currently working on a second master's degree) but have also spent many years teaching others (including graduate level courses). Considering that this is the ninth edition, it's hard to understand why anyone would continue to use it as an "introductory" text. Even the headings found on Amazon reviews for the last edition clearly highlight just some of the numerous problems that remain in this obscenely overpriced book; these include statements such as:

* Miserable Book

* Avoid - do NOT use book as reference do NOT use in a class!

* Not for the faint of heart * Author knows, the rest of us guess

* NOT a good book for beginners

There have been so many complaints in my own introductory database class, that our instructor is now actively seeking another text to use instead of this one. So, what exactly is wrong with this book? Plenty! Examples:

1. Verbose to an extreme - rambling discussions regarding topics that are only remotely related to the topic being covered.

2. Examples are filled with mistakes or are just plain wrong. My copy is now filled with corrections and comments from my instructor to NOT use the examples provided.

3. Chapter "summaries" are, more often than not, two or more full pages of solid text - and these are just the "summaries." Neither the author nor the editors of this book seem cognizant of just what a summary is - ever heard of bullet points, guys?

4. One of the most basic, primary, characteristics of quality teaching is the ability to "teach a little and then apply it." Instead, Kroenke bombards the senses with an ENORMOUS number of concepts in every single chapter, there is simply so much, that it is not possible to assimilate everything that is covered. Nor is it ever appropriate to cover so much matterial at one time. Kroenke even has the audacity to note, in the introduction of one chapter near the beginning of the book, that readers should read the chapter "several times" in order to understand the material! Sure, it is often important to re-read SOME things but not entire chapters! Regardless of how many times you do attempt to get through the material - much remains incomprehensible due to horrible presentation of the material!

5. Diagrams and other graphic materials are spread all over each chapter, although usually on pages other than their explanation. Not only does this make things extremely difficult when trying to understand them but the very fact that one must read an extensive amount of text just to begin understanding what the example provides, before trying to figure out the exact concept that the example is trying the demonstrate, defeats the entire purpose of graphic examples in the first place!

I've now resorted to buying other books in order to understand what we're covering in our class. That has, without question, been FAR more useful than wasting anymore time with this nightmare.

The only thing that rambles more than this awful book are some of the "positive" reviews that appear here. WORST book I've ever read. Save your money and buy something else.

Whoever wrote this deserve in hell! Base on the organization of my class:
Intro to database--Chapter 1 and 2 did an ok job on that. But 3/4 of the class didn't know what the hell it was about. The reason is that the book goes straight into "WHY USE A DATABASE?" SOB. Why would anyone go into "WHY" before defining what it is? If he(Kroenke) is not defining what a database is, how would anyone ever know what a database is? This shot dead couple people (some dropped the class).

Entity Relationship--Man. I am not sure whether the book is intended to torture people or not. Most are IDEF1X models. But the instructor insisted that we need to learn EER. What the F*ck? I mean this is so screwed. The book only has couple examples on EER. I am not sure the author is trying to invent (maybe it is misleading) some stuffs or not. It is saying when people refer to ER it meant EER; ER is not referring to Peter Chen's ER model. Holy sh*t. What on earth is this guy thinking?

Normalization--Jesus Christ! The definition of first, second, third, and fourth normal form is so passive. It has all these colorful(awful) tables spread around over the chapter to apply the norm form concepts. This is chopped liver. The organization is messed up. And the guy is trying to play with surrogate key--what it is, how to implement it, etc. Why would anyone not explain primary key, candidate key, and superkey before go into surrogate key? I ended up reading stuffs on the Internet and borrowing books from the library. If a textbook can't convey the knowledge we needed, why would we use it?

The class only uses 20% of the material. And only 30% of this 20% is useful. So it turns out only 6% of the book applied to our class. Give me a break!

The list below is unused:
-Introduction to Structured Query Language (SQL), The instructure actually used another text for this--A Guide to SQL, Philip J. Pratt.
-Using SQL in Application
-Database Redesign
-Managing Multi-User Database
-Managing Databases with Oracle 9i
-Managing Databases with SQL Server 2000
-ODBC, OLE DB, ADO, and ASP
-XML and ADO.NET
-JDBC, Java Server Pages, and MySQL
-Sharing Enterprise Data
-Object-Oriented Database Process

Some of these stuffs do not belong to a database textbook! For example, programming stuffs like Java, ASP, .NET, etc. These belong to other classes. And it includes individual products like Microsoft Access, Oracle, MySQL, etc. These belong to IT training camps and not in a database concept course. There are more if you look carefully. This guy(Kroenke) is trying to compile an database encyclopedia. But he failed miserably.

You give me 120 dollars while I hand over 6 dollars to you!

This book is neither an idiot or dummy type teach yourself booklet nor an empty academic exercise but rather a general approach that tries to give a broader perspective as regards the database technology.

This book is grossly overpriced and not useful, at all, to anyone trying to learn about databases. I find some of the "positive" reviews to be unfounded and grossly biased (they must be friends of Kronke or bad instructors trying to justify their use of this BAD textbook). I would suggest that both Kroenke and his buddies look for a dumbies book on "how to write a textbook." Note how the publishers comments about this book refer to it as discussing "fundamentals" and providing a "foundation" on databases. This book fails completely at doing either of those things.