Customer Reviews

MCAD/MCSE/MCDBA 70-229 Exam Cram 2: Designing & Implementing Databases w/SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition

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

 

 

I used this book as part of my revision portfolio. i found it a comprehensive reference in my revision for Exam 70-229. it is light on a couple of stuff ie: XML , estimating the size of a database and such. but all in all after reading it, i felt like i had a clear grasp of all the areas i needed to know about & prepare for , for the exam. Having that confidence helped in moving forward to the next phase ie: tackling past questions.

what i liked about this book :
- it lists the various objectives of the exam & there is a chapter for each Exam objective.
- it is a comprehensive read at 321 pages.
- there are exam questions after every chapter, Relating to that chapter
- there is a CD with 50 questions set in an application that simulates the exam room scenario.
- on the ExamCram2 site, a section features 64-100 additional questions & answers
- Answers with explanations are provided with every question featured in the book.

However, i also coupled my preparation with the following and when it came to crunch this is what made all the difference when taking the exam: u might want to check these out

(and this is why i cant give the book alone all 5 points of credit)

(1.) SQL Server 2000 Fast Answers ISBN: 1590595920
value:( the only place i found anything on estimating the size of a database , (apart from BOL) and past question scenario explanations. besides that, this is also a very good reference for 70-229 & 70-228. -- Sack is a good SQL Server author
(2.) SQL Tips & Techniques: ISBN:1931841454
Value:(for matters SQL ie: using ROLLUP,CUBE , T-sql rules, cursors, triggers, sprocs, server security elements, the works. a magnificent reference. with plenty of examples-(very important).I cherish this author.
(3.)Portable DBA SQL Server. ISBN:0072230169
Value:(if u read this before the ExamCram2 book, you'll feel much more prepared for ExamCram2 and the past questions stage.it helped consolidate my knowledge and identify areas of weakness.

However, if you have used other study aids or big 700page type Tombs, or feel resonably confident of your understanding, or have identified your areas of weakness & really just need a bit of practise for the exam, then this is what u should do instead.
(Go on The fast track)
(a.) Get a copy of Transcender certification for Exam 70-229 answer all 132 qestions and read the expanations where u go wrong.
(b.) Get a copy of Testking Exam 70-229, anything from version 1.x up is good, answer all 107 or 238 questions on the various problem scenarios and study the explanations where u go wrong.
(c.)visit braindumps dot com and get the latest exam 70-229 brain dump. answer all 107+ questions. understand the stuff & leave no stone unturned.

schedule and sit the exam when you've finished with these various example scenario questions.u r ready.

Ace the exam.

listen, there are many other books that i referenced, but what i think is most important (after revising and knowing your stuff) is to pass the actual exam in 160minutes & 44 questions. you need to tackle question regarding problem scenarios in order to sharpen your wits about applying/selecting/choosing the right solution /tool or strategy within any given problem scenario. this is the crunch of it. do that ,and u pass.

End of.

oh, for those wondering, i took the exam just thursday last ie:(30th March 2006); scored 93% ie: 931. The pass mark is 700 ie: 70%.

Good luck.

cheers :-)

Hi. It is a great book for the exam. Up to the point, covers all objectives. The Exam Cram Sheet that comes with the book touches on all the points that need to be known just before the exam. I even found similar questions from the practice tests at the exam. But most importantly, use this book as your sole resource ONLY if you have experience with SQL Server 2000 (I have 5 years exp.), and want to prepare for the exam. If you don't have the experience, maybe you should take the microsoft course, or if you have an experience with other database systems, just practice with the different aspects of SQL Server 2000 and make sure you know TSQL well,SQL Query Analyser and the Profiler.

Good Luck to all.

The book hit on all of the exam topics and provided enough knowledge for me to be well prepared to take the exam. I had been using self studying techniques and failed the exam on my first attempt, but this put me over the top. I would rocommend it for anyone preparing for the exam.

While the main use of this book is to study for the Microsoft 70-229 SQL Server exam, there is no reason why you cannot also use it just to quickly learn SQL Server 2000. For either case, Moore offers a concise walkthrough of the gist of this database.

The book takes you into how to layout your tables in a logical data model. Independent of SQL Server. Then, the text discusses how to do a physical implementation that takes advantage of the specifics of SQL Server.

You should probably also pay attention to how stored procedures and user defined functions are done. These may be crucial to improving performance. Even if you have to embed business logic in the database itself. The book shows how to do this, though it is a contentious step to some database developers, who would want to place it outside the database.

The questions and answers at the end of each chapter are good for exam preparation. These problems are a little skimpy. But this is ameliorated by the CD, which has much more testing material.

If you have several years experience with MS SQL 2000 you may be able to pass the 70-229 with this book only. A great way to measure your readiness is by taking the test that comes included in the CD. If you pass it with an 85 or above, I'll say you're ready. If you don't, this book should be enough to prepare you for the test.

I also discovered that this book is a compressed regurgitation of the "MCSE SQL Server 2000 Database Design and Implementation Training Guide" (ISBN 0789729970) written by the same author a few years earlier. I definitely recommend the Exam Cram 2 instead of the one mentioned in this paragraph.

One thing I found very interesting is that the questions in the CD are extremely similar to the ones in the actual test. It will definitely give you a good sense of what the test is going to be like. Make sure you pass 3 practice tests with 85 or above before you go and take the real test.

Good luck!

This book is a good, general introduction to the 70-229 exam concepts - but I had to couple it with the Transcender practice exam before I felt comfortable taking the exam. The exam topics are so broad that the book doesn't do enough to emphasize when to use what. It also skips some important topics (sp_cursoropen) and its practice tests include Full Text Searches which the book notes are unlikely to be on the exam. To the editors: A 'databases' index entry with three pages of sub-entries is redundant in a book about databases. I love the Exam Cram series, but this was the poorest book of the bunch.

The content provided by the book was great. Unfortunately my main reason for buying it was the accompanying MeasureUP practice test. The publisher should have definitely chosen a different vendor for the practice test. The MeasureUP exam utility is so poorly designed that unless you are running default regional settings it will not be able to provide a timer or a score. I had my PC set to use 24 hour (military) time instead of AM/PM. This one minor setting caused their application to die. Anyone who has ever written a single line of Visual Basic® code knows that you should always format the incoming dates and times. To trust that every PC in the world has the same regional setting is foolish. If you like using practice exams for Microsoft® products that would not even make it through first round of testing at Microsoft®, then buy this book. Otherwise, we should strongly encourage the publisher to choose a better practice test vendor.

I previously studied and aced the 70-228 exam and obtained a wealth of information from 'Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Unleashed' (ISBN 0672324679). It had enough information for both that exam and this exam. I've never used an Exam Cram book before and have to say I was disappointed. While it occasionally passed on some specific info, it was more like a guide that tells you a topic is important and that you should study it! If you want to learn and understand how/why you are to do something, this book doesn't cut it. If you want a guide to give you a few quick facts and then tells you to study other materials, then this guide is fine. I was expecting something along the lines of a concise listing of what you needed to know without delving into non-exam topics (which was fine by me after reading the exhausting 1500 book I mentioned above); but, this is anything but concise.

A good review book explains all the topics in a consise fasion this book does explain the topics that well is a bit disorganized and has topics missing. There are better review books out the for SQL 2K