Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Taken directly from the exams and written by top-notch authors, this book is a must for any exam candidate!, February 8, 2006
Quite simply, this book should be on the shelf of anyone who intends to take the MySQL Certification exams.
The book was written by Paul DuBois, certainly the top author of MySQL related books. Paul's style is very readable and the book provides extensive coverage of the exam material.
In fact, the book is so extensive because it was written not only by Paul, but by Carsten Pedersen, certification manager at MySQL AB. The book was written by the people who created the exam, and it shows. I can tell you right now that if you read the certification study guide and know its content, you will pass the certification exam. There is not a question on the exam that is not covered by this study guide.
The exercises are good, though not always formatted the same as what you will encounter on the actual exam. Doing the exercises should reveal how well you understand a given topic in the guide.
Here's an overview of what the book covers:
* MySQL and MySQL AB
* MySQL Software
* Using MySQL Client Programs
* Data Definition Language
* The SELECT Statement
* Basic SQL
* Update Statements
* Joins
* Importing and Exporting Data
* MySQL Architecture
* MySQL Installation and Configuration
* Security Issues
* Optimizing for Query Speed
* MyISAM Tables
* InnoDB Tables
* Advanced Server Features
Finally, here is the best part about the MySQL Certification Study Guide: it's free. In the back of the guide is a voucher code for 25% off the cost of a certification exam, or roughly the price of the book. If you are serious about taking the MySQL Certification exams, you can't go wrong with this book.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exam voucher not honored for MySQL 5 exams! (but great book), March 2, 2006
I love this book, but I am outraged that VUE refuses to honor the included voucher code for MySQL 5 exams. The book is targeted for MySQL 5, and the text in the book clearly states the voucher is for ANY MySQL exam. But VUE claims the included voucher is only valid for MySQL 4 exams.
I attempted to escalate this issue but was told by VUE that it is Amazon's fault for including the wrong voucher number. The code is clearly printed by the book publisher, not Amazon, so this is just very poor finger pointing by VUE trying to blame Amazon.
The book is worth every penny despite the false advertising related to the voucher.
UPDATE: I contacted the publisher and got a quick response. The publisher is working on fixing VUE's screw-up, so hopefully this will be resolved soon.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Very good information, leaves more to be desired, June 30, 2006
I found myself wanting more when it came time to try the practice exam questions. The book comes with PDF's that serve as the practice exam. What I expected was software that would simulate the test. I'm taking the DBA class next month and I don't expect any issues passing the exam, though I would feel more comfortable forking out the $ to take it if I had a wider pool of questions to study from.
The book does a fairly good job of covering both exam tracks (DBD & DBA) from what I've seen thus far and is laid out in a practical way for those preparing for the exam. This book is not intended as a reference, though some new admins may choose to use it like that.
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Post-exam follow-up:
The certification study guide did a good job of helping me pass the exams the first time through. Primary goal - accomplished. If you plan to attend the MySQL 5.0 DBA class, I got a copy of my own in the class so I wound up with an extra (so I keep one at work and one at home). Combine this with the on-line resources available and the value of this book increases.
I do find myself recommending this book to other developers and administrators to learn how to improve their MySQL skills, but I don't recommend it as a reference. It accomplishes its purpose well, however, I think it could have been better by having more of the information we need after the exam is over. This is not a manual for MySQL and clearly does not stand on its own for that purpose. If your goal is to get certified as a DBD or DBA, this book will likely help. If your goal is to use this book as your only manual for MySQL, this is not the best investment of resources to that end.
Hits:
o Helped me pass the MySQL DBA exam first-time with very thorough study and having taken the MySQL 5 DBA class.
o PDF files for exam prep materials and a full PDF of the book itself
o Has some nice query optimization explanations in it.
o Provides nice resources for those who are upgrading their skills from MySQL 3.x, 4.x.
Misses:
o Does not cover MySQL Cluster.
o CD did not contain software that helped me take practice exams.
o Resource not intended to be used as a full reference of MySQL.
o Many of the prep questions were given before the material to answer the questions were presented.
Note: I would increase my rating of this book to four stars, but Amazon won't let me change the rating in my review.
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