Customer Reviews

MCSE Readiness Review Exam 70-029: Designing and Implementing Databases with Microsoft SQL Server 7

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This book should not be used as the only book needed to pass the exam. Without additional experience, training or other resources you will not pass the test. This book ( and the whole readiness review series) is designed to see how well you know the material. The questions in the book and on the CD are easier than the test questions but they do show the reader trends in strengths and weakinesses and areas to concentrate.

This is a very good book to help you prepare for the 70-029 Designing and Implementing Databases with SQL 7.0 ---IF--- and I stress IF you do the hands-on practice as outlined in the book. If you are looking for a book that will drill you in a similar way that the test is going to then this is not your book. The review questions and practice test questions are nearly identical to each other and very easy if you know your stuff but nowhere near as detailed or "difficult" as the actual test. This book follows the testing objectives point by point and gives you hands-on practice on each objective then offers review questions to solidify your understanding of the topic however, you could do this on your own by printing out the testing objectives from the Microsoft website. The difference is you don't have to think up practice exercises or review on your own. One of the features of this book is the supplemental reading list after each review point which is good reading however, most of the online or downloadable materials have moved so you will have to search for them on the MS website. If you want to use this book as a hands-on preparatory guide and you already have a firm grasp on MS SQL Server 7.0 then it will suffice. If you don't know SQL Server 7.0 and want to learn, this book is no good to you. The best audience for this book is people who know MS SQL 7.0 and want to ensure they have covered all aspects of it before taking the test. This book will not serve as any sort of reference guide before or after taking the test. All in all this is a good book but the 70-029 test is not an easy test and nothing, I mean NOTHING, will prepare you for it but HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE. Do the practice, absorb the supplemental reading which includes the SQL BOL and you will pass. BTW if you don't know what SQL BOL is you will likely fail at least once anyway. ;)

I used this practice exam and Transcenders and passed the 70-029 exam on the first try. Transcenders are far more like the actual exam. If you can purchase only one practice exam, I suggest Transcenders, but if you got another $30 to invest, hey this 'second' practice exam is worth it.

The testing software included with this book could be greatly improved by providing a way to save and print test session question/answer as Transcender does. That way, you can print out your incorrects, grab a cup of whatever, sit down at your PC with pencil and hi-liter, and go over what you got wrong. Currently, you must write down by hand the question numbers you get incorrect and refer back to the book :-(

All above is ditto for Readiness Review 70-028

The CD that comes with this book is 90% of the value. It gives you a set of questions that help test what areas you may be weak in. I told myself that I would never take another test without the corresponding readiness review book. It is one of my "secrets". Unfortunately, the book for 70-19 (data warehousing) won't be out until a month after the next release of SQL Server - instant obsolesence.

This book as any other Microsoft book or guide, is interesting enough just because it teaches you to "think" the Microsoft way, which is what you need when taking a Microsoft test.

Other reviewers point out that it is too easy or that questions included are not elaborate enough to be good test preparation, but I have to disagree for two reasons:

1) Every easy question sets up another more complicated or hard one, and makes the later one make a bit more sense, hence it TEACHES you. 2) It does a great job at laying the ground for good solid knowledge of the basics.

Yes, there are many questions that seem easy, but the explanations included for each question makes the book worth the price. The CD with a test engine with a pool of 60 questions alone is worth $30 online anywhere!!!

Together with hands-on practice, and other books and/or training guides, this book makes a resource that is hard to ignore when preparing for the test.

Please do not compare with Transcenders, that is a totally different monster that costs over $150. Take this readiness guide for what it is and don't expect to become a DBA overnight just using this book. No one resource is ever enough.

Guillermo Salas MCSE, MCDBA, CNA

As a review for the 70-029 examination, this volume is not adequate preparation. While the detailed explanations accompanying each question would be of value for the novice dba, the complexity level doesn't approach what you'll see on the actual exam. The greatest defect of this book is that it doesn't provide realistic "scenario" questions.

Question are far away to easy and not close enought to the real exams. CD Rom contains just a copy of what is written on the book.

mlorini@usa.net

I found this book very useful to prepare for the certification exam. It was on target and no time was wasted by spending it on useless information. I would recommend it highly to prepare for the certification exam.

This book is good for providing a list of necessary topics but does not achieve the level of detail/depth that the exam does. EXAM IS TOUGH, especially if you are not already functioning as a database developer!

I must tell you that I am sutisfed with this book. You will not spend money for anything. First, it is enough large to provide you knowleadge for passing the exam.All information are usefull and details are covering every part of the exam.