Customer Reviews

Microsoft Sams Teach Yourself SQL Server 2005 Express in 24 Hours

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

 

 

I was not going to write a review- this is my first. I have read Ms Balter's SQL Server 2005 Exp & can say I found many fine examples of fundamental SQL action queries to triggers, T-SQL coding, database security to writing VB.NET and ADO for creating stored procedures. I have read other books - Murach's Introduction to VB.NET and Murach's SQL for SQL SERVER etc. This book is worth the price of those others. In my opinion and experience it is a good "fundamental and introductory" SQL 2005 book. The 1 problem I had was finding the T-SQL and VB.NET source code.

I wanted a book that taught me how to use SQL Server Express so that I could use the free version of Microsoft's database for small projects. I did get that, and I also got hands-on training that gave concise information about SQL Server 2005 in general. The major topics were all covered, including database concepts, how to create and administer a database, the SQL statements to access it, and Stored Procedures. The point of this book is to present just enough material so that you have an overall understanding of SQL Server 2005 Express and how to code and administer it. It provides small exercises that allow you to test out and "own" the material as you move along. It gets you up-to-speed. Then after reading this book, a person can pick up other books such as "Murach's SQL Server 2005 for developers" in order to get more detail about these topics. It really helped me to get jump-started on both SQL Server 2005 Express and SQL Server 2005.

The CD that came with the book contains SQL Server Managment Studio Express, which is Microsoft's free tool to administer the database, and Visual [...] Express. I installed them on the machine at the customer site, and it was all that I needed to get the project completed. This book is what you need when you want to get a basic understanding of SQL Server 2005 and learn enough to do productive work with it.

I would not recommend this book to anyone. It pontificates in a grandiose manner, assuming you'll be impressed by the big words even though they say nothing. If you are looking for a tutorial, this book does not walk you through the processes and sometimes even leads you astray without explaining or helping you through the errors. It doesn't even tell you when you're working in a different database or where to go to get that database so you can continue to follow along. It's not even useful as a reference book. It will tell you a command and if the command requires a code, it just says you need a code. When we did an internet search to find out more about the code, it was explained in one line. Would it have made the book too long to add one more sentence? As someone new to SQL, I found this book to be a complete waste of money and time.

I agree with all the poor ratings listed here - I had not read them before because I bought the book as part of a group at work where we would all be learning together. We are all programmers in other disciplines and most dropped out of the class because this book is so bad. It's funny how some of the good ratings here have to explain how you get around the problems so you can learn from the book - DOES THAT TELL YOU SOMETHING???

I agree with the previous reviewer who said that this book does not reflect typical SAMS quality. I'm reading Ben Forta's "MySQL Crash Course" (also by SAMS) at the same time, and the difference is night and day. The first 100 pages of this "Teach Yourself" book do not even employ any actual databases... it's all just dry abstract instruction: "If you want to do this... then do this... if you want to do this... then do this..." Besides being unreadable from sheer bone dryness, without any examples it's almost impossible to figure out why or when you'd want to do any of these things. These first 100 pages literally read like they were copied out of Microsoft's online-help. In Chapter 6 the author first introduces a sample database (Northwind), so I'm hoping things will improve somewhat, but I'm not too optimistic with this one.

I have had great experiences with Sams books in the past, but this book is an exception. This book struggled to find an identity from the very beginning.

First off there were numerous mistakes throughtout the book. Some were minor like telling the audience to click modify when it should have actually been design. Others are not so minor. In one chapter the author unexpectidly switches to a different database for her examples. This would have been fine, except the author never tells the audience where to find the database or even mentions that she has switched databases (the database is available on Microsoft's website, but this is never mentioned).

The other main gripe I had with this book is the lack of details in important areas. The author would sometimes only devote a paragraph to something very important. Othertimes, the author would spend 15 pages explaining something that could have been done in 3.

A very poor book overall.

Like others who have reviewed this book, I also found it not to be the typical quality of SAMS books. Usually I can pick up a SAMS book on a subject without examining it thoroughly beforehand and while reading it, be satisfied that it provides me with what I wanted. This book is far from that.

Attempting to decide if this book is for beginners or for experienced users was a dilemma. The book presents information as though it was intended for beginners, but during the discussions it uses terms and makes implied assumptions only a more advanced user would be aware of. The entire book follows this template. I could see how a true beginner would quickly become frustrated trying to learn the subjects presented in this book because there is little depth to the explanations. Difficult subjects such as SQL, Joins, Normalization, Relationships and others that may take a significant portions of chapters in a good book only occupy a few sentences or a small paragraph or two here. The reader would have to be already knowledgeable about many of the aspects of the information discussed to fully understand what is presented.

As an experienced developer wanting to get acquainted with SQL Server Express, this book did have some value for me. Because I already understood the concepts, this book allowed me to see how they fit into SQL Server and allowed me to become acquainted with it. Even at this the book did less than well, but I would say this is the greatest value of the book. Much of what I learned to interface with the development environment I had to learn as a necessity by experimenting, not from the book. If I were a beginner I would have been lost.

The book contains many full screen shots, which can be a plus. The screen shots reduce the reading material by about 25% from what it appears to be from looking at the size of the book.

Again, beginners will be frustrated with this book and advanced users will find little if anything of value in it. The only audience I see finding value in this book will be those who have experience with some other database and wants to learn to apply their experience using SQL Server Express. Still the experienced reader will have to wade through the book's inadequate attempts to instruct the basics and the reader will be without in-depth explanations of using SQL Server Express.

I brought this book because my work wanted me to learn more about SQL server. The book started off quite well i thought for the first 3 hours but then about the 4th hour there where no examples. I would of thought they could of thrown a few exmaple databases on the CD to go along with.

Unfortunately for me i am a hands-on person when it comes to learning, i have to walk along with a tutorial of some sort to understand what im doing rather than just reading about something. They give all the screenshots in the book but really I needed a real working database to work with.

In the section on 'Adding and Modifying Indexes', it's almost like the author was teaching a different level. At one point it says select clustered to designate the index as clustered, but then doesn't even explain what a clustered index is.

The other thing i noticed was that if you search in google under, 'Adding and Modifying Indexes', it pulls up a link to Alison Balter's Mastering Access 2002 Enterprise Development. The text for this section is identical to the section for this book. So it was not even re-written text, it was the same text copied from one of her previous books.

Hopefully someone on here will recommend something a bit more suited for the beginner.

The book is well organized. The depth and breadth in the book is appropriate for beginning DBAs, developers, and students. It covers installation, basic database concepts, T-SQL, management, security, and ADO.NET programming using VB.NET and C#. It is amazing that the author managed to cover so much material in a relatively thin book without skipping important topics. This is a very good introductory book. I will give the book 4 stars.

One common problem of the step-by-step books is that you will get lost and do not know how to get to the next step. You are asked to click an icon but the book does not show you the shape of the icon, neither an arrow pointing the icon. What you can do is hover the mouse pointer around the icons slowly and look for pop-up messages to locate it. Most of the time, you should be able to figure out the minor missing links.

When you are stuck, you can look up 'SQL Server Books Online.' You can also find more advanced topics and techniques there.

The version of SQL server 2005 Express in the CD that comes with the book is old. You should download and install the following from Microsoft
1. Current version of SQL server 2005 Express SP2.
2. SQL Server 2005 Books Online.
3. NorthWind sample database(instructions can be found in Appendix
A)

To download the source code,
1. Go to samspublishing.com
2. Look for 'Book Support & Downloads' under 'Quick Links.'
3. Enter the ISBN to find the book.
4. Click 'Source Code' link beneath 'More Information' portion.

Even if I hadn't had the pleasure of meeting the inimitable Alison Balter in person recently, I would still highly recommend this book for people new to using SQL Server. SQL Server 2005 Explress is one of the most compact, accessible and easily configured versions to date (though MS continues to expand their offerings), making it quite accessible for even a laptop user if need be.

Alison does an excellent job of breaking down all the basic parts without pandering as other publishers can sometimes seem to do, efficiently guiding the user through the installation process, and beginning DB management techniques. MS Access users will be well acquainted with the Northwinds sample database included (in SQL Server version), maintaining a level of familiarity as you dip your toes in the new SQL Server Express 2005 waters.

By breaking the whole subject into one hour "topics" per chapter, the whole concept of administering SQL Server is much more digestible, without pandering. You can literally spend an hour a day and get through the book in basically a month (24 days) with a solid foundation to launch from. The language is clear, not overly-technical, yet precise. You will add things like T-SQL, triggers and stored procedures to your vocabulary before you know it.

A lot of SQL Server users are "accidental DBA's" as they inherit the job when a predecessor leaves and no one else is equipped or willing to take on the task. This is an excellent resource for both such unwitting DBA's, and aspiring MS Access developers seeking to upsize both their apps and their resumes. Highly recommend.

To learn a topic I usually read the Dummies version and then try it. Well, in this case, Dummies was just not right for me. I briefly tried Apress and Wrox but, as usual, they were too intense. I especially don't like their small print. Sam's is usually my last choice. In this case it was my best choice. The book covered SQL Server Express in a logical, easy-to-understand way. All the information you need to use SQL Express is in the book. The author was thorough but not overly technical. I enjoyed the book. I supplemented the book by using my Apress book as a technical resource.