Customer Reviews

Databases Demystified (Demystified)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been reading technical books for the last 20 years and this is one of my favorites! The information is clean and accurate, you can plow through the book relatively quickly, and the concepts are presented very clearly. I highly recommend it - the "arm and a leg" you save may be your own.

The subtitle says, "A Self-Teaching Guide", and that is exactly what you get. I found the prose approachable and the chapters very well organized. Other books sometimes offer an esoteric quiz at the end of the chapter, but this quiz actually helps focus the reader on the main points. Nobody leaves wondering what matters most.

The book targets the novice. However, it doesn't skimp on the critical, classic database issues such as the outer join, choosing primary and alternate keys, data normalization, good data modeling, and the differences between physical and logical design. Don't dismiss the book if you think that you are already pretty knowledgeable -- I guarantee you'll learn something new. I know that I did.

I was surprised at the treatment given to Security. Instead of limiting the discussion entirely to database security, the book expanded briefly into some adjacent areas. Anyone that works with a database should know this information, but it's hard to find it so well ordered. Great coverage.

I do have one objection. After reading it, I thought it would be great to sit down and interview the author to learn more. It's not that anything is missing, but this complex topic was made very approachable...it left me looking for more. Sometimes the audience hates you at the end of the show, but this refreshingly straightforward leaves you ready for more.

I look forward to the next book, where I expect the author explains how to "kick it up a notch" and become a Database Jedi Master. With a foundation like this, I know I'll be ready!

Very, very good introduction to databases. I'm mostly self-taught in the DB field, and felt that although I knew and understood most concepts at a reasonable level, there were a few bits and pieces missing. I bought this book in the hope that it would help me find those bits and pieces, and wasn't disappointed. This book would be excellent value if it cost more; at it's current price it's mindbogglingly good value.

This is perhaps the best written guide to anything to do with computers that I have ever read! I'm a rank beginner with databases, and after studying with this book I feel perfectly comfortable with the larger more technical books that I've found. Highly recommended.

This book is billed as a self teaching guide to understanding databases. That's true. It is also billed as a good place for the beginner to start. I don't find that to be as true as the other.

Specifically, I think this authors approach to teaching SQL is very well done, quite possibly the best I've seen. The overwhelming percentage of books for beginners, and particularly for Microsoft Access users never mention SQL at all.

On the other hand, the first chapter starts off talking about the 'Properties of a Database' including the Physical Layer, the Logical Layer, the External Layer. Then, still in the first chapter, there's hierarchical models, network models, relational models, object-oriented models, and object-relational models. This is chapter one and at the end of the chapter he says: "The remainder of this book will focus on the relational model...." Why bother going through all this mess just to be told that we aren't going to use them in the rest of the book. He promised, well the marketing people promised, on the back cover: "No unnecessary technical jargon." In my mind 'hierarchical models' is unnecessary technical jargon.

I guess that what I'm saying is that this book is not a beginners book, it is more suited for an intermediate user. For an intermediate user, ready to go beyond Microsoft Access's Query By Example (QBE), then I rate the book highly.

There are two things in life that are difficult: databases and comedy. Fortunately, the author makes understanding databases far less difficult with his clear explanations and examples. I confess that some aspects of a database (and I have some experience) are still a mystery, but I hurriedly read this book because I have some much reading to do. Sometimes, the best use of your time is to slow down and let concepts mature in your mind. Even though I hurried through the book, my understanding of databases deepened and I intend to read the book again, taking more time to understand some of the concepts that are a little fuzzy. This book will not waste your time. The author is talented and is skilled in the art of instruction.

Even though I have some experience as a DBA, I tried to read the book as a newcomer to the field. I found the book to be concise. Every new term was explained, and the examples were more than adequate. The author presented the material in such a way that when I did all the quizzes and the final, there were no problems understanding the questions or getting the right answer without referring back to the text. I would recommend the book to anyone, whether they are just starting out as a DBA or have been doing databases for some time.

The purpose of this book is to get the reader to the point where they know enough about databases that they can perform specific database tasks (e.g. query a table, create a new table, understand an ERD). I think actually, that this book succeeds in achieving this goal. While the reader certainly shouldn't expect to be a DBA once complete, they should expect to be able to begin performing certain basic database tasks. In fact, they should have enough knowledge that they'll know where to go for more advanced help.

This book begins with a basic introduction to the various types of databases, explaining the rationale for each, before explaining why this book concentrates on relational databases. After the required introduction to querying data in Microsoft Access, the book really starts to get good. The introduction to SQL is very good with examples provided in SQL*Plus.

The reader is then taken through a discussion of database design. This discussion goes through the differences between various normal forms (especially the more common first through third normal forms). Next, the reader learns how to read an interpret ERD diagrams. Finally, there is a good discussion on how to actually design a database, with discussion on different kinds of constraints and keys.

The last section of the book touches on some of the more complex aspects of database design and maintenance, including security, transaction support, and basic tuning.

I think this is an excellent introduction to common database practices and procedures. Again, the reader shouldn't expect to be an advanced Oracle developer simply by reading this book, however, the reader should expect to know enough to complete basic database development tasks. It's a great way to start.

By far the best intro to databases I've ever seen, and having spent years as a technical writer for Oracle databases, I've seen plenty. The author makes even difficult database concepts easy to understand. He shares a career's worth of wisdom about the database industry in enlightening ways. This book provides the clearest overview of the field (from what is a database to
Structured Query Language to the latest database technologies). You can even test your learning with the sample quizzes. This should be required reading at every database company! Ideal for
database novices and useful even for database professionals who are not versed in every database speciality.

You'll learn as much as you need to know about the syntax of SQL to work with databases. But the most valuable aspects of this book is logical database design and how that fits with the architecture of the web and the applications you'll be working with. I'm a product manager for an internet company and this book has been an invaluable resource in designing applications and writing requirements specifications. The developers and I now speak the same language. You won't be dissapointed.

Thumbs up. There are lots of reviews there already, and what they say are mostly true in my opinion. It is a good book to read to get general basic knowledge of Database. However might not be as good if you want to learn a specific database software. The book is written in simple and clear words, and is very organized, which is a huge bonus in my rating.