Customer Reviews

Oracle Developer Starter Kit

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I bought this book because I'm new to Oracle and the book title has the words 'starter kit'. This is a farce because it already assumes you have a little knowledge of Oracle. So I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone starting out. What makes this book completely useless is the fact that it goes through a tutorial example that doesn't even exist on the CD. There is no possible way to follow through the chapters because it keeps referring to this example that doesn't exist. This was the worst computer book I've ever bought.

This book is very well explained and written. Mostly covers the advance topics of developement in Oracle. If you do not have any proir experience in using forms and reports then this book is not for you.

This book does not go in detail on how to created the sample tables, therefore I can not do any hands on training.

I tried to get support from the writer but I did'nt get a respond back.

The code examples could do with a bit more punch, as the learning and practical communities from what I perceived is getting more examples-oriented these days. A drawback is the anti-climax felt when the accompanying trial-version CDROM, does not install Oracle Developer Server fully and mysteriously ended prematurely during installation and does not at all show any error messages. This is perhaps discouraging as the enthusiast/evaluator may be itching for some real life action (a starter kit book afterall) after poring through the deployment steps as outlined in the book and getting an incomplete setup. Can anyone provide an avenue for patches or advice for a complete installation, especially for non-USA residents?

I believe Robert Muller has changed the approach and treatment of Oracle Developer in this latest version as compared to that in his earlier version. With the introduction of a Tutorial beginners will slip into using this toolset with ease. However I felt that those who have worked with Developer will appreciate this book better than those who have never used it even once. Muller elucidates the concepts and encourages you to try out the innumerable features of the toolset. As with any toolset a book is not a reference manual and cannot explain all the features and the nitty gritty of every tool. Armed with a broad understanding of the processes and the capabilities of the toolset you should use the product and enhance your understanding. Remember that you must attempt to get the big picture instead of plunging into the details headlong. Buy the book Oracle Advanced Forms and Reports by Dr Dorsey to learn how to build a good application with Oracle Developer. Oracle Press may have finally filled the need for a good introductory book on Oracle Developer. Good work !

I know PL/SQL, but have never used Developer. This book explained Developer concepts well enough to get me started, but it's usefulness ended there . Reading about the sample project was somewhat helpful, but it did not include information about where to put code. In fact, the author claims that knowing PL/SQL is relatively unimportant to using Developer. This is not a reference book, but neither does it provide a simple, to-the-point example of how to use Developer. The example was too complicated for someone who just wants to get the idea and experiment on her own.

On the plus side, though it is not the focus of the book, the sample database was very helpful in demonstrating the details of implementing an object-relational database.

I've been very angry this past week since I had this book.

I purchased the book pretty much for the CD. I've got a slow modem so I can't afford to download the software from the internet site.

Basically the CD requires you get a trial authorization key (by registering at .... This is to be able to install the software. However, the page leads to a 404 error message. I've spoken to Oracle and the publishers and they have been VERY unhelpful.

So all I can say is, if you are buying the book for the CD, then DON'T buy the book.

How good is the book? Well, I havn't read it yet! No point in using the book without the software installed.

It could be a good book. But, from chapter 4 on the reader has to struggle to find ways around the missing library (TalbotStandard) which was not included on the CD. And nowhere does the author mention how to obtain the library or the example database. You can type in 30+ pages of data given in an appendix but you still can't work the examples given in the book. A really really bad job of QA here. The author and/or the publisher blew it big time. If I could return it and get my money back, I would.

<...>It is possible to follow through the chapters using the examples. The previous reviews were false. Excellent book ! Buy it and learn Oracle Developer. END

The reader can not go very far without the trial software which is NOT on the CD as stated in the book cover and on YOUR web site. I have sent a note to the author and the publisher seeking their assistance, but they have not even bother to respond. I would advise other readers not to buy this book unless you already have the software. It is not for the starter.I know one can down load the software from ORACLE but how long it will take to down load over 200Mb on an average speed of less than 10 Kb/s, assuming the connection holds. It is not practical.