Customer Reviews

Oracle Database 11g New Features (Oracle Press)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Other reviewers may have negative opinions, but I think the book is well worth the cost - especially if you bill your time. Yes, the material is covered in Oracle's New Features docs, and yes, this volume is not for either the beginner or the true expert. Remember, these books have to be written well before the new product is actually available, so there are naturally some discrepancies and small errors; these are rather benign in their impact.

However, Freeman has done a great job for those of us "in the middle" who are neither beginners or world-class experts. The explanations and "here's why you care" approach make for an approachable read and a value-directed understanding of the material. The practical tips aid understanding and will save a great deal of (billable?) time.

I would still recommend reading the Oracle documentation, and of course these new features must be tested in the crucible of real environments. But buy the book, enjoy the organized approach and the time you'll save by studying it. I recommend it to my user group and co-workers.

I was a fan of Mr. Freeman, until I read this book.

I bought it along with similar book wrote by Sam Alapati. I started reading this one first as there are big names associated with this book, Tom Kyte and Arup Nanda.

Well, this book was rushed to the printers. It has tons of errors. The examples, diagrams, don't match the description. The explaination is too short or incomplete.

If you are choosing between this one and the Sam Alapati one, then save your money and go for the other one.

I have read both, and the second one is 10 times better than this book.

I received the product on good conditions and just on time and good packaging, not problem at all. Thank you

I did read carefully this book three times as preparation for Oracle 11g OCP upgrade exam(from 10g).
I love the clarity, simplicity and robust examples provided by Robert Freeman.
I have rated this book with 4 stars(not 5) as I found one error and one topic that I would say is missing:

1) Error, at page 281
"Manually loaded plans are automatically fixed.Oracle will mark plans as fixed when they are evolved..."
This is not true, plans are just accepted, but not fixed when they are loaded manually.
Should be "Manually loaded plans are automatically accepted.Oracle will mark plans as accepted when they are evolved..."
Robert actually in the next section at page 282 describes correctly that evolving a plan means actually to change it from not accepted to accepted.

2) Missing, a complete description about SecureFiles new feature.
Only at page 209 Robert briefly describes SecureFiles on a half of a page.
Unfortunately the 11g upgrade OCP exam has a big chunk of the questions about SecureFiles.
Knowing or not knowing about SecureFiles can make you pass or faile the OCP exam.
I am sure when Robert Freeman wrote this book the OCP exam topics had not been probably defined.

Great book anyway, it did help me pass the OCP 11g upgrade exam.
Thank you Robert Freeman.

I have been an Oracle dba since version 5.
Every time I upgrade Oracle to a new version I read the Oracle release notes, new features and all other related books.
This time I chose this book and I must say that it is much easier and clear than other Oracle material I read before.
It is well organized, the chapters are detailed and the material is well understood.
Go get it!

Alon

I think this book is good as an overview of Oracle Database 11g. Better than a whitepaper, but not enough to fully utilize the new features. It is a good reference when you can consult the Oracle documentation for more detail. It is not good as a new features exam guide, but isn't labeled as such, so that is OK. It still can be helpful in the process of studying though. Also, it's worth keeping on the shelf.

This is a must have for anyone interested in upgrading an Oracle database to 11g. The author clearly explains new concepts in this release. What separates this book from others is the real life examples used to illustrate the value of the new features, not simply a definition of the syntax. I was especially interested in the Data Warehouse section. Highly reccommended!

This is a great book, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who needs a succinct starting point for Oracle 11g. Robert Freeman has once again published the essential reference for early adopters of 11g. This book is an excellent overview of the Oracle 11g database's new features. I would recommend this to DBAs and programmers who want a concise overview of the key new features available in 11g. Robert provides enough detail to let you identify which features will benefit you the most without getting so far into the details that it becomes burdensome to read. That's what manuals are for. This book has done an excellent job in hitting the most important points for all the new features, showing how to use them and providing accurate, workable code and syntax. The author's style is engaging and keeps you interested which is in direct contrast to other books. The feature-specific commentary by Arup Nanda which runs throughout the book also provides additional practical insight.

The book is fun reading.
"If you are running a physical standby database in Oracle Database 11g, Oracle physical standby databases can detect the corruption. When this error is detected, Oracle recommends switching over to the physical standby database, making it the primary database. You can then re-create the primary database.
[...]
This new feature leads to quicker identification of problems and reduced down time. When the physical standby database detects the lost write, it will generate an error in the alert log of the standby database and managed recovery will be halted." (pp. 119-120)

It is nice, isn't it? You review standby alert log, find an error, then you switch over to the standby (halted!) as Oracle recommends, making it primary, and then you re-create the primary.

Mr. Freeman! What were you thinking? :)

Packed. Packed with examples and the answers to the 'why' questions. You can read Oracle's manual to get the 'what', but if you want to know the 'why' and the 'how' to get the most from 11g, this new features book is packed. Packed full of goodies. Packed like Santa's sleigh. Complete thumbs up!