The Definitive Guide to SQLite (Hardcover)

by Mike Owens (Author)
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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The Definitive Guide to SQLite is the perfect book about SQLite. It covers everything needed to start working with SQLite including installation, using the SQLite shell, and programming with SQLite using six different language extensions.

— Joe Topjian, Adminspotting

Traditional relational databases and embedded databases both have shortcomings that can leave a developer perplexed. So for many people, the solution resides in SQLite, an open source embeddable database with an amazingly small footprint (less than 250 kilobytes). SQLite packs a powerful array of features and can handle databases as large as 2 terabytes. It offers a flexible set of datatypes and the ability to perform transactions, and it is supported by languages like C, PHP, Perl, and Python. And because SQLite's databases are completely file based, privileges are granted at the operating system level, allowing for easy and fast user management.

The Definitive Guide to SQLite is the first book to devote complete coverage to the latest version of this powerful database. It offers you a thorough overview of SQLite capabilities and APIs, while remaining cognizant of newcomers who may be making their first foray into a database environment with SQLite. This book serves as both a first-time tutorial and future reference guide.

• Youll learn about SQLite extensions available for C, Java, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, and Tcl.
• The book thoroughly covers SQLite internals to help you take full advantage of its features while minimally impacting resource consumption.
• Author Mike Owens is the original creator of Pysqlite, the popular Python extension for SQLite.

About the Author
Mike Owens is the IT director for a major real estate firm in Fort Worth, Texas, where he's charged with the development and management of the company's core systems. His prior experience includes time spent at Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a process design engineer, and at Nova Information Systems as a C++ programmer. He is the original creator of Pysqlite, the Python extension for SQLite. Mike earned his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 1 edition (May 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590596730
• ISBN-13: 978-1590596739
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #56,471 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the best database books I've encountered, August 26, 2006

By	brian d foy (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

Mike Owens started writing about SQLite in Linux Magazine and C/C++ User's Journal, and he continues to show his clear and easy manner of explaining the features and use of this embedded database in this book, which Apress binds as a hardcover to show off its usefulness and longevity.

I run away from most books with "Definitive" in the title, especially when they aren't heavy enough to break toes if I drop them on my foot. However, the author doesn't waste any space or get distracted with long explanations. In the 440 pages, he effectively covers all of SQLite, including its various language bindings and APIs. Although he created the initial Python bindings, Perl gets the most coverage (if you don't count the third of the book that talks about the C API for completely embedding SQLite into your own programs).

The front of the book covers basic database concepts. At times the subject matter gets a bit complicated, but the author has a clear style and easily explains the tough subjects. Without his command of the topic (as you'll find lacking with many database books), the explanations could have spun wildly out of control, taking the author for a ride. There's no question who's in charge here, though.

I've been using SQLite for a couple years and regularly delve into its documentation, and even I learned several things from this book. The handy SQL reference will keep me from waiting for websites to load, and I expect to have this book close at hand when I'm working with SQLite. It's one of the best database books I've encountered in a long time.

If you need a book on SQLite, The Definitive Guide to SQLite is the only one you should even consider.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, June 23, 2006

By	Clif Flynt "Tcl'er" (Dexter, MI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Definitive is definitely the right title for this book. It covers everything from the SQLite console commands to the interpreter language bindings (Tcl, Perl, Ruby, etc) to the C API. I've been using SQLite for several years, and learned new stuff before I hit page 30.
If you are using MySQL or Postgres and don't need a distributed DBM, you need to look hard at SQLite. If you are using SQLite, you need this book.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly Competent, Beginner to Novice., February 1, 2007

By	William F. Pearson III (Cordova, TN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this book thinking that I was going to need to reference a basic SQL source to fully understand the concepts. But, I found not only did it fully explain SQL and relational database theory, it also gave great advice on when one needed a full blown RDBMS.

I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to develop database enabled applications or light to medium traffic websites. I would also highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about SQL or database theory in general.

Probably the most important thing I learned from this book is that 80% of us with databasing needs simply don't need to wrestle with a SQL server anymore.