Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
you need a background in SQL, May 8, 2005
Well the book certainly seems to cover MySQL's features quite comprehensively. But, as it is a reference manual, it does not attempt to teach you MySQL or the theory of relational databases. For a given MySQL command, the book's explanation is succinct and useful. Provided you already have a background in the area. Much of the book's discussion is probably already available in equivalent form in the online help. But hardcopy is nice to have.
Going through the functions, what you might appreciate about MySQL is that many of these are generic SQL functions. If you come from any other SQL implementation, your background will be relevant to much of the book.
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20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
MySQL and how to use it effectively!, January 5, 2006
The book is "A Desktop Quick Reference" just as billed on the cover. It is explicitly MySQL-centric and doesn't stray from that core message. It is extremely up-to-date considering the rapidity of movement in MySQL development progress.
I feel that its author, Russell Dyer is the kind of person who is easy to talk to and immediately be comfortable with based on his style and presentation in this book.
The content of this book is very well organized in keeping with the finest traditions at O'Reilly & Associates. There is an installation guide, tutorial, SQL syntax reference, MySQL built-in functions section(s), command-line utilities reference and programming languages API references for PERL, PHP and C. These API references demonstrate commonplace MySQL usage through clear, easy-to-read examples that make good sense.
It is a very comprehensive text that reads as easily as a favorite novel yet is concise enough to be your first "go-to" on MySQL issues you may face day-in and day-out. It is truly the "most advanced kingfisher" (cover animal) on the topic and, like the Pied kingfisher, it is lightweight and demonstrates keenly honed survival skills.
I use MySQL daily and I find it very useful and enjoyable. I don't want to become an SQL guru or even a DBA, as a programmer, I enjoy having MySQL In A Nutshell close at hand so that I can focus on writing code. Thank you Mr. Dyer (and the folks at O'Reilly) for a job well-done! I heartily recommend it to everyone using MySQL. The convenience of this publication clearly outweighs its cost. Newcomers and RDBMS "old-timers" will appreciate this book equally.
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27 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another Solid Nutshell Book, May 17, 2005
Ah, "Nutshell" books - you gotta love `em. Or maybe you don't. I won't get into the pros and cons of online documentation versus books because this subject has been rehashed ad infinitum. Truth is, there are pros and cons for both, and we each have our own reasons for our own preferences.
That being said, if you like book documentation - and "Nutshell" books in particular - then you will like this book. I happen to think it is a good idea to tear yourself away from the keyboard/screen every once in awhile, and the "Nutshell" books give you a good reason for doing so.
I'm not a SQL expert, so I liked the tutorial-flavored introductions at the beginning of each chapter, followed by the conversational tone of the clear and concise examples. I did not have this book when I first started programming using MySQL, and that's too bad because it could have saved me a lot of wasted time with its explanations of some of the more nefarious "gotchas" of the language.
I have but one criticism and one suggestion:
Criticism: The following APIs are covered at the end of the book: Perl, PHP, and C. I can see leaving out COBOL and Lisp (if there are even APIs for these languages), but Java? Granted, the Java interface to MySQL is well-documented in many places, but if you are discussing the *major* programming language APIs to MySQL then you should do just that.
Suggestion: The beginning of the book provides an introduction to MySQL via command-line instructions. I can see doing this, even though no one interacts with databases through the command line. What I think would be even more useful would be a brief discussion of the two tools that everyone does use: MySQL Administrator and MySQL Query Browser. A couple of chapters (along with some screen shots) of what they are, why we need them, where to get them, and how to use them would really make this book perfect. (If you don't forget that Java API chapter!)
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