Customer Reviews

Official Guide to Mini SQL 2.0

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

 

 

The book lacks details and does not include a lot of practical examples. Much of the book is filled with countless pages of library source code that has very little use to the end user or adminstrator and should have been left out of the book and put on a CD. The August 1999 O'Reilly book (MSQL and MySQL) puts this book to shame.

I am appalled at the lack of editing this book had. I spent hours and hours trying to figure out what I was doing wrong and it turns out that there are blatant errors all through the book. They include double-quotes in the very first example in the book (end of chapter one) which should be single quotes, which completely rule out the example working. Any beginner who got this book (like me) will be completely lost until someone who knows what they're doing clues them in. And what is with the blatant %*&-kissing the authors do of the people who invented various things? And ack, java, WHY so much java? This book isn't useful to beginners because of the way they completely gloss over all the basic stuff (when using INSERT INTO with a date field do you put it in quotes? oh why bother telling us, we should magically know that somehow right?) and what they DO say is factually wrong. I can't see any experts learning anything here either, they just try to cover SO much it's ridiculous and they spread themselves WAY too thin. But man, where were the editors? Didn't they try to run even the simplest code in this book before printing it? Pathetic. I feel so ripped off I can't stand it. The worst book I have ever purchased.

Tthe examples put the whole book to shame, there are countless errors within the example code that prevent it from running. Some of the facts they list aren't accurate. If you must read this book get it from your local library.

Since this is the first book on mSQL, I can't complain too much. However, less than 1/5 of the book is on mSQL & W3-mSQL. There should be a LOT more!!

There is a lot of information in the FAQ that should have been in the book. Also, a lot has been assumed. For instance; no where does the book explain the # sign and how it is used. PrintF and the use of the % sign should be explain. Not everyone is a C programmer!

Everyone should read the FAQ as well as this book. Hopefully the authors will start immediately on a new version. Still, an excellent book for as far as it goes.

with this book you'll get not only a simple to use database for unix/linux - it's more : you'll also get introducions to HTML,
PHP/FI, Perl, JAVA, ... and how to integrate mSQL in your
applications ...

Some reviewers have mentioned that they found errors in the book. I'd like to point out that one of the key goals in creating Jepstone.net was to offer new releases of the example code as well as support forums for my books. Ideally, there shouldn't be any errors in a book, and I apologize for any that lurk in the pages. However, I'm committed to helping you: the forums give you an opportunity to let me know about any issues you have, and I promise that I will do everything I can to resolve them quickly.

Good, but it could have had a chapter relating to integrating it with Apache or another web server. Also some Lite examples could be included on the CD.

Boy, was I glad when this book finally came out. Sure, there are mailing lists and discussion groups devoted to MiniSQL (aka mSQL), but what I really wanted was a well-edited, authoritative guide to the best nearly free SQL database implementation.

"Official Guide to MiniSQL 2.0" is almost everything I was hoping for. It certainly is authoritative, given that mSQL's creator, David Hughes, is the coauthor. It's also comprehensive, covering not only what mSQL can do but also, and more importantly for practical purposes, how you can interface with mSQL via Java, Perl, and other languages by using existing APIs.

The downside to that breadth of coverage, however, is fewer examples of complete database applications. Ironically, mSQL doesn't really need the in-depth coverage as much as do the various APIs (from MsqlPerl to DBD::mSQL). Nevertheless, "Offical Guide to MiniSQL 2.0" is an indispensable resource for anyone using or considering MiniSQL.

The book talks about MiniSQL in a very concise way. And more importantly talks about how you can use it with other languages/scripts etc. The sections on Java, Perl and Apache are very good. There is nothing new presented in this book. You could get the same info by reading other online sources on Mini SQL. The book provides a single-stop info source on Mini-SQL.

Very useful for programmers and web masters wishing to set up a web database online.