Database Systems Design, Implementation, and Management [Hardcover]

Peter Rob (Author), Carlos Coronel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0760010900 | ISBN-13: 978-0760010907 | Edition: 4th

The only book that takes users step-by-step through database development and creation, this title provides the most comprehensive, detailed, and clear coverage of database basics, with ample exercises and problems at the end of each chapter to encourage hands-on learning. After completing this book, users will gain the marketable skills and technical background necessary to compete in tomorrow's competitive database administration marketplace. In-depth explorations of data warehousing better prepare users for the new workplace.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book is appealing because of its comprehensiveness and state-of-the-art coverage of database topics. The examples used to explain concepts in each chapter are very realistic and useful for students." - Dr. Sudha Ram, University of Arizona

"Rob and Coronel have improved an already excellent text. This comprehensive text on database systems is a perfect fit for both undergraduate and graduate level introductory courses on database systems. The 6th edition offers new material on advanced SQL and data models, and maintains a wide range of application with multiple DBMS vendors. It is an ideal text for teaching relational and object-relational theory, and introducing students to transactional and decision support database environments. Students benefit greatly from the balance between theory and application presented in the text." - Samuel Conn, Regis University School for Professional Studies --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Peter Rob has 32 years experience teaching file systems, database systems design, database design, database applications development, and more. Peter¿s real-world experience includes two years as a Director of Operations at an aviation chart company, 20 years as a consultant for hands-on operations systems analysis/development and database systems design, and 15 years experience as a statistical quality control systems analysis and systems/applications developer.

Carlos Coronel is currently the Lab Director for the College of Business Computer Labs at Middle Tennessee State University. He has 25 years of experience in various fields as a Database Administrator, Network Administrator, Web Manager, and Technology Specialist, and has taught courses in Web development, database design and development, and data communications at the undergraduate and graduate levels. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 750 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology Ptr (Sd); 4th edition (October 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760010900
• ISBN-13: 978-0760010907
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,743,783 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Flawed Academic Overkill, December 1, 2001

By 

David Hedrick Skarjune "Word & Image" (Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Database Systems Design, Implementation, and Management (Hardcover)

As a professional database consultant and college instructor, I found this textbook to be an academic exercise that is flawed in defining basic concepts and filled with useless details.

While Rob and Coronel are listed as the authors, it's obvious that this was a departmental project at the Middle Tennessee State University, where they teach. The writing style is one of boring exposition perfomed by a team of writers against an arbitrary outline.

It's incredible that a 750-page university text in 4th edition has inaccurate definitions and misleading examples of the basic concepts of the field. They don't event get 1st Normal Form right...as they show data in redundant rows and call that "repeating groups." For Transactions they give the ANSI definitions for COMMIT and ROLLBACK and then claim that they don't need to be used if "the application terminates normally." So, does that mean we should only use transaction processing when we write SQL with the intent to make applications that abend?

The book revels is lots of useless details, providing more quantity that quality. Oddly, while the authors present themselves as Oracle experts, all the data shots (and accompanying databases provided on an instructor's CDROM by publisher Thomson Learning) are rendered in Microsoft Access.

Many of the problems provided at the chapter ends are literally impossible to complete. How can a student normalize a one-row data sample with no business case or rules? How is a student supposed to derive exact Semester beginning and ending points from a list of random dates? Apparently, the editors didn't bother to have anyone attempt solving such problems.

This textbook does not provide adequate training for basic SQL, professional database development, or serious database administration. I was forced to use it for college classes, and I supplemented with more outside material than I could cull from the text. It's not enough to allude to things like triggers and stored procedures--you have to actually write them in the real world.

There are many other database books to choose from for both theory and practice.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How to make heavy stuff seem light, May 27, 1999

By 

Jan (Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Database Systems: Design, Implementation, and Management (Paperback)

Designing databases is hard work and involves a lot of thinking. This books makes it easy. It's very explantory, uses real-life examples, and encourages the reader to do some studying on his own. However, I have to deduct one crown...the book would be even better if it came with a CD-ROM. Typing all examples by hand into my PC may be the right (and hard) way to learn, but it's tiring.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive, but perhaps too much so, May 5, 2003

By 

Sage Adams (Fairbanks, Alaska USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Database Systems: Design, Implementation, and Management, Fifth Edition (Hardcover)

First let me just say I liked this book. Why? Because it is a pretty IT book with useful and informative color screenshots and illustrations that are explanatory. It is of course both fortunate and unfortunate that the author uses screenshots of MS Access databases almost exclusively.

I do wish the author had spent more time discussing web-database application integration. Also, he only used Coldfusion (the most expensive variety) to illustrate web-database interactivity. This is great for learning some basic Coldfusion tagging, but how about something useful for small-time web hosters and others who want to use PHP, which is not only free but more powerful than Coldfusion. Ah well.

This book is very large in height - you'll see what I mean when you pick it up. The sections on ER diagramming, SQL, normalization, and design are top notch. However when the book gets into the later chapters, and covers more difficult subjects such as distributed database apps, transactional databases and Internet-related topics the coverage becomes a little weak. He does give a fine overview of all the topics presented however and the book is not totally boring to read either. The author is very lucid.

I recommend this book as an introductory text on databases but nothing more.