Customer Reviews

MCSD: SQL Server 6.5 Database Design Study Guide

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

 

 

This is a very, very boring book to read, despite being well organised and set out. Admittedly the material isn't exactly scintillating, but a bit of effort to make the exercises even a little bit challenging would have been welcome. Also:

- there are lots of errors in the sample multiple choice questions; and

- some subject areas are not covered in enough depth (cursors, locking spring to mind).

So you will need a supporting text to cover the areas that this text is weak on.

I failed first sitting (solely on the text) and passed the second time (with the assistance of another textbook).

This book is a good place to start studying for exam 70-127. It breaks down the exam objectives nicely into separate chapters, and touches on most of the material that you'll need. However, there is no way nearly enough information to prepare you sufficiently for the exam.

You're going to need another resource, and may I suggest Inside SQL Server 6.5 by Ron Soukup. It's an excellent book, very readable, which touches on virtually everything you need to know for the exam. Use Hough's book to guide you through the objectives, but pull most of the information from Soukup. You have to do this anyway due to the vast number of errors in Hough's book, as many reviewers have already pointed out. (Be sure to download the errata from the Sybex site.)

This book has very poor coverage of many areas including cursors, transactions, the DUMP command, and locking, amongst others. You'll need to refer to your secondary resource for this additional coverage, and I would recommend SQL Server Books Online too - which incidentally comes on CD with Soukup's book.

Top all this study off with the Transcenders, and you're ready to go. Good luck!

I liked that this book models its chapters and sections to the list of exam objectives published by Microsoft. Because of this, the book provides a good starting point for studying for the test. However, almost all topics are skimmed, with basic brief examples. Supplement this book with another one (like SQL Server Secrets) to get the in-depth knowledge you need.

Kevin has made a nice attempt at taking all the objectives for the exam (from Microsoft) and then deconstructing each one. This is the approach I prefer, instead of the long-winded diatribes that disguise themselves as "study guides". However, one should be wary of the errors on the practice test. My colleagues and I found 17 out of some 160 questions (over 10%!) blatantly incorrect. But you can figure out these errors if you know the material (and check out SQL Books On-Line). Most of the mistakes in the book are misspellings and wrong headings or captions, again easy to figure out by just paying attention. Overall, the book is pretty good and the tests are decent but just know about the incorrect answers (I'll even fill you in on these if you want, email me at bobr_29@zdnetmail.com ). He would have got an extra * in my rating if he (or his editor) had spent more time on error correcting.

Book is laid out well. However I agree with the other reviewers comments about the number of errors that abound in the book. Also this book did not help much in preparation for the exam. With some experience, the SQL Server Books Online and the Transcender tests you can expect to pass the exam.

I agree with much of what has been said. This book canbe useful, and would actually be an excellent book if it were not for the errors in the book. (this may sound strange "The book is good except for where it is wrong") I like the structure and format of the book, and it is an easy read. If it were not for the technical errors I would rate it 5 stars. With the technical errors, I would say it can be a useful addition to your study efforts, but should NOT be your only source. Second Editions anyone? (Or even edition 1.01 would be nice)

Oh Yes, lots of errors. Bad ones too, It sure did switch the system and database catalogs, and lots more. But as one reviewer mentioned, cross check the details with Sql Server books online, then you'll pass with excellent score. The outline and objectives are right on what you need to know to pass. Just dont believe the details in this book however. Let the book guide you through the topics in SQL Server Books Online that you should know and it can be a good value and save you time. It is sad and surprising that so many errors and inaccuracies are allowed to be published and approved. Now we know where bugs come from, right from source material like this. Good intention, bad execution...

I found this book adequate. I had very little SQL Server experience, but with the help of this book, I aced the test (I missed only one question). Of course, you have to supplement this book with the Transcender test and/or SQL server books online to do really well. Caveat: There are a significant number of errors (typos, incorrect answers) in the book, but they should be obvious.

I passed this exam but NO thanks to this book. I think I spent more time cross-checking the content with SQL Server books online for accuracy. I have some relational database background and so, could spot some of the blatant technical errors in the book. But I pity the freshers who rely on this book to get them thru the exam. Doing the practice tests was so frustrating since so many answers were wrong. Example: Which type of data integrity is ensured by using a primary key? Answer in the book: Referential Integrity. I can't believe it carries a label saying "Microsoft Approved Study Guide".

First: before deciding to buy this book read the comments of all the other readers. Second: don't buy this book in any case. I've used some MCSD Study guides before and believe me when I say that this is the absolute worst I have encountered so far. Just to give an example: if you are so unfortunate to have this book, go to chapter 3 System Databases and Tables and check out pages 87-91 that contain the system catalog and the database catalog. Done? Now go to the helpsql.hlp file that ships with SQL Server and search for: System tables-Database Catalog and System tables-System Catalog. Mr. Hough switched all the tables of the system catalog to the database catalog and vice-versa. Either the help file is wrong or Mr. Hough is wrong. I tend to think that Mr. Hough is wrong. This is not the only blatant mistake I've seen. It would take a 600 pages book to list all the errors I found in this book!! Maybe Mr. Hough is not writing about SQL Server after all. Maybe he is writing about something entirely different and we don't know it!!!