Customer Reviews

OCP: Oracle9I Certification Kit

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

 

 

Well, I may say that I give my scoring based on the average of scoring for only two books of the set, and this is because I have had both the tests and succeeded with them, while I have not started with the others, so I'm simply going to ignore them for this review:

1) Introduction to Oracle 9i SQL (Rate *****): {Passing score 39/57}
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This book is briliant indeed, but .. it is not easy for begginers to start with, and one of the very simple reasons, while it starts by talking about something (INSERT statement for example), you discover examples of things has not been exaplained yet (INSERT AS SELECT)!

But in general, this is a GREAT book to be prepared, and confident for the test; it helped me pass the test by 52/57.

2) Oracle 9i Database Fundamentals (Rate ***): {Passing score 44/60}
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Unfortunately, even if the book claims to cover ALL the Oracle objectives, surprisingly you see things in the exam, which are not covered well!

I failed my first exam, and scored 43/60 (no comment!). I was disappointed, because I faced about 8 questions I really did not have any idea about answering them, and the other multiple choice questions (3 of 6 and 4 of 6 for example), I knew some, and was unable to determine the last choice, because of the poor coverage of some areas!

Having failed my exam, I decided to study from the online books of OTN (Oracle Technology Network), and during my study I came to the answers of those 8 questions! and had the test again, and passed with a score of 56/60!

To mention some of the weaknesses of this book:

1) Poor coverage of Globalization Support, and if you want my advice, please do not study Globalization support from this book, or kiss you Globalization questions goodbye!
2) Weak or missing explanation of the following areas:
- Tablespaces, especially in the areas of the Temporary and Undo, Locally and Dictionary managed tablespaces.
- Redo Log files, and checkpoint not complete problems.

All this does not mean this is a bad book, but .. do not depend just on it to pass the exam, try to find another source of information beside this book, so you do not fail!

I am planning on writing a seperate review for all of these books once I am done with it. I just thought I'd share my two cents on the whole set for anyone doubting whether they should purchase it. The set contains all four study guides that will help you prepare for the four exams of the OCP 9i qualification. The writing style is understanding and they have some nice real world samples that kind of put things in perspective. The CD-Rom with its flashcards, chapter tests and two bonus exams for each book makes the whole deal worthwhile. Although I have not had any experience with other study guides other than Sybex's, it will take a lot to beat the quality at the price you pay.

okay, i'm not a salesman nor do i work for the publisher. If you search amazon.com for the individual book titles in this kit you'll find LOTS of great user reviews. that's why I bought this kit (as opposed to the many negative reviews for the Oracle press books and others). I took the first exam last week and passed it and I can tell you that this book helped me tremendously. The writing style is factual, with no fluff, and it's organized very well with plenty of great examples to illustrate concepts. Plus the CD-ROM contains the books in PDF format so searches are easy. I guess the only criticism I can think of is related to the practice exams. Don't get me wrong they were awesome (an exam for each chapter plus 3 sample exams and hundreds of flash cards), but the real exam had different types of questions, I mean the real exam was more challenging and thought-provoking. I breezed through the book's sample exams but used nearly the entire 2 hours taking the real one. I'm studying for the second exam now and so far love the style of the second book too. Now that I've been thru the first exam I think I know what to expect from Oracle so I'm reading the second book and taking the practice exams with a different perspective. These are great books, I can't imagine why people would give them anything less than 4 or 5 star unless they had a grudge against the authors or something...

This is definitely the best oracle 9i book in the market.
However, you must use it with the Simulate Exam question.
Otherwise, I think is impossble to pass.

I think ocpfree/ocpfree1/ocpfree2/ocpfreeX in yahoogroup.com has provide a valuable Exam Simulation all for free.
No need to buy the simulate test. This book + yahoogroups + Study will gurantee you pass.

Hi,

The content and the style is really comprehensive and easy to understand. The best part is the closeness to the actual exam.

There are so many books to learn about Oracle but by using this book and exam sim from whizlabs, I could easily cracked the exam.

I'll highly recommed it.

Best wishes,
Sunil

I just read the 1st book in the kit and passed the first exam on OCA/OCP for 9i SQL. Got 54/57.

Users have also to practice on other testing (or any other similar test guide) exams. Else, you may pass it borderline (or even fail borderline). So, a combo of this kit and an outside question-answer type practice exams should pass anybody.

Now, on to my next course - Oracle 9i DBA Fund I !!

While the first two volumes covered the testing material fairly well, the last two volumes (Fundamentals II & Performance Tuning) compare very poorly to their counterparts published by Oracle Press. I have bought other Sybex study guides, and they have been nothing but good to me. This "kit" comes up a little short. If you must absolutely buy a boxed set for the cost savings, I would recommend Oracle Press's set ISBN 007219524X also available at Amazon.

In the book for Fundamentals II, the coverage of networking, Shared Server and imp/exp is VERY sparse. While the sections on Backups is better, the Oracle Press books were a little more on target in presenting concepts for the exam.

The Oracle Press book for Performance Tuning was a much better choice not only for the exam, but also works as a great reference at my desk. Again, the material and its presentation was more complete and representative of the concepts tested on the exam.

It is worth buying this set to use for the Oracle 9i track OCP exams.

*OCA/OCP: Introduction to Oracle9i SQL Study Guide (1Z0-007)
Good book, it covers pretty much all the exam objectives. It is easy to read and easy to follow. But I prefer the sybex study for the exam (1Z0-001) which is an alternative to the exam (1Z0-007). Overall I give 5 stars for this book within the whole set.

* OCA/OCP: Oracle9i DBA Fundamentals I Study Guide (1Z0-031)
Very good! The content of the book is well-aligned with the exam objectives. It is easy to read and easy to follow. Can even be used as reference. I also give 5 stars for this book within the whole set.

* OCP: Oracle9i DBA Fundamentals II Study Guide (1Z0-032)
The only bad apple in the basket. This book does not account for all the exam objectvies outlined by the Oracle Certification Program. The book does covers some of the topics tested on the exam but not in depth to make you feel comfortable. I admit I gained some knowledge out of this. Overall it is not a complete guide. I rate 3 stars within the whole set.

* OCP: Oracle9i Performance Tuning Study Guide (1Z0-033)
Best book! Complete coverage of the exam objectives. The coverage is good and clear with many screenshots of codes. The only problem with this book is it does not follow the format of exam objectives. But you can still find your way out. Overall, I recommend it. I give 5 stars within the whole set.

Finally, my suggestion is this: to maximize your chance and master the topic, try to get also the Oracle Press books. If you couple the Oracle Press books and the Sybex Study guide, you don't need the expensive practice test software. You will have plenty of questions you will increase your chance of passing the first time.

The book is found very useful. The structure and scope is easily agreeable to the exam syllabus.

Are all over the places, for example, on bookpool.com
is it the same word for word review, just the name of "reviewer" is different, it is " Satish Vare from USA". All these sale's pitches make me very unhappy, least to say and it doesn't add to credibility of selling company either!