Customer Reviews

Oracle PL/SQL CD Bookshelf

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have come to expect great things of Steven Feuerstein, particularly after the Oracle Supplied Packages book he wrote. I found that particular book to be a wonderful resource since I bought it.

I was therefore expecting great things of Steven when I purchased his latest work, "Guide to Oracle8i Features". The content of the book appeared to be right up my alley and indeed I was not disappointed by the range of topics he covered (though I would have preferred more Java depth as others had mentioned and a few other new 8i features that I haven't seen mentioned in detail that I would think applied to PL/SQL such as temporary tables (though he does talk about temporary LOB's) ).

What REALLY disappoints me about the book is that Steven seems to feel that he needs to use it as a platform for his political views. Constantly his political views are expressed in both the code samples he writes and the text associated with those examples. Obviously, I disagree with Steven on a great many of the points he tries to make (is this an odd attempt at being subliminal on his part?), regardless I would never attempt to do what he has done. Technical books are NOT a place for political commentary.

So, in brief, Steve has written a good text that is clouded, heavily in my opinion, with political overtones that distract from the subject at hand. I am also surprised that O'Reilly would allow their published texts to become such a platform for political activism.

Better luck next time Steve, I still have faith in your ability to write good, clean, technical text.

Robert

Mr. Feuerstein has consistently been the guru in the PL/SQL world, and nearly every developer I know carries dog-eared copies of his books. However, he has definitely overstepped the bounds of technical writing with his latest book, Guide to Oracle 8i Features. The technical content of this book is extremely complete and useful. The political commentary is uncalled for and offensive.

At first, his use of "real world" scenarios as code examples was annoying -- and eventually it became offensive. I respect Mr. Feuerstein's personal beliefs and his right to have them; however, they are wholly inappropriate in a technical book. Using pick_nato_targets (with input parameters such as "maternity_ward_ok" and "civilian_casualties") is grossly offensive, even if someone happens to share his beliefs.

The examples are distracting, and do not add anything to the text in any way. Everyone to whom I have shown this book was appalled at the examples. The technical editor in our office was horrified, and most of the other developers who have seen this book will not purchase it. None of us wish to be preached at, or be the target of condescending and offensive examples.

Please let me stress that I respect Mr. Feuerstein's opinions -- but if he wants to write political opinions, he should be using a different forum, not a PL/SQL technical reference. The political content of this book is completely unprofessional, inappropriate, and embarrassing. I expect this kind of proselytizing in the editorial page of the local paper, not in a technical reference book.

However, the technical content of the book is very good (as are all the Oracle texts from O'Reilly). I will probably continue to use it as a reference.

As a consultant, I depend on having the right answers available when they're needed. This compilation of books gives me an easily portable collection of seven of the best PL/SQL references available. The ebooks are collections of HTML pages, readable with any browser. The included search engine allows you to search through all the books, or a single book at a time (though not a limited subset of books) for keywords or phrases. The included "Oracle PL/SQL Programming Guide to Oracle8i Features" is an excellent book in its own right, with the typical well-written, entertaining, and informative prose that Feurstein fans are enamored with. This package is an incredible value.

This CD Bookshelf is an excellent resource for PL/SQL and Oracle Database Developers. It contains 7 books which offer valuable information on PL/SQL programming. The collection of books cover basic to advanced PL/SQL programming topics. Beginners and advanced PL/SQL Developers will find this a good reference to add to their library collection. The Oracle PL/SQL Programming, 2nd Edition book on the PL/SQL CD Bookshelf provides indepth information on the fundamentals of PL/SQL. For more advanced developers the Advanced Oracle PL/SQL Programming with Packages is an excellent resource. Other books on the PL/SQL CD Bookshelf are equally useful and valuable. The PL/SQL CD Bookshelf is a great resource kit to have in my collection!

In the preface of this book Steven announced that he is developing the third edition of his well-known book "Oracle PL/SQL Programming" that will cover Oracle8i. I hope he'll postpone this release until Oracle9i hits the market so he can cover this major release too. In the meantime I think this book is perfect supplement to PL/SQL series from O'Reilly. Even if you don't follow Steven series on PL/SQL (which I doubt if you're Oracle developer on planet Earth ;-) you'll find this book more than adequate resource for quick reference on all major Oracle8i PL/SQL features. I particularly liked chapters on invoker rights, native dynamic SQL, fine-grained access control and new trigger features. If you're not familiar with these terms then you'll be glad that you read this book! The only (minor!) deficiency that I found in this book was what Steven is calling "breath of fresh air" approach to examples that will help us engage with the technical material. Perhaps I could better relate to the examples about USA health care, gun lobby or fairness of wage structures if I ever lived in the states. Steven, if you're reading this please go back to old boring emp/dept examples or pick somehow less distract full examples.

Very poorly written, this is the worst book in the series... he uses innane political cases for programming examples and ends up hidding the programming intent in confusion. I returned this one and got my money back.

The technical content of this book will not dissapoint you. I owe Steven at least a million dollars (-:)) for all the times his books have saved my as* when coding pl/sql. The most interesting thing about this book is not the technical content, but the political views Steve dumps on you via the coding examples and in the dedication of the book ("Free Mumia" of all causes). I don't know about you, but the last thing I want to pay for is political sermon from a pl/sql expert.

O'Reilly simply has the best PL/SQL reference library on the market. This collection of 7 books on CD, along with soft-cover book "Guide to Oracle 8i Features" is the PL/SQL reference standard. Having some previous experience with a couple of the books on the CD, particularly with Steve Feuerstein's work, I found the writing to be clear, insightful and very readable. The programming comments and suggestions are right on the mark. What I also enjoyed was the price, which represents a significant savings over the list cost of the individual books in the bookshelf.

When I first started looking at the CD, I wondered how I would best make use of this reference. I tried reading it on my monitor, starting on the first page and continuing on from there, but after awhile I realized that wasn't going to work. I then started playing with the text searching capabilities provided on the CD. What I found is that O'Reilly has done a very nice job of first indexing and then implementing electronic searches. I am now using the CD exclusively as a reference via this search. Although I didn't know it then, I now believe that is the best way to use the reference if you have some prior knowledge of PL/SQL. I now keep the CD at work, consulting it whenever I need to refresh my memory on how best to write PL/SQL. If you have no prior experience with PL/SQL or you don't like reading books on-line, consider just purchasing the soft-cover components of the bookshelf. However, if you are like me and have some experience in the area, this bookshelf is an indispensable part of the Oracle reference library.

One last thought. Although the bookshelf is great, I do have a problem with it. The collection is dated. The CD covers PL/SQL through to version 8.0 of the Oracle RDBMS. A soft-cover book, included in the distribution but not on the CD, includes new features provided with Oracle 8i. That leaves a sizable hole in that PL/SQL features introduced with Oracle 9i are not discussed. I suspect that even as I write this Steve Feuerstein et. al. are hard at work filling that void. In the meantime this collection is the best PL/SQL reference for Oracle 8i.

Pro: Great reference for Oracle 8i PL/SQL, a bit lacking in the Java side, but for the rest is really good.

Con: Mr. Feuerstein should leave politics out of the book. He has the right to hold any political view, which by the way I don't subscribe to, but this was supposed to be a technical text that should help readers all over the world, not only those in Berkley who vote left wing.

Next time he better stick to the usual, neutral and actually more useful, examples.

This book effectively explains and illustrates the new features of Oracle 8i. Any serious user of this book should just stick to learning the concepts and avoid seeing the examples for what they are. The author has chosen a medium to get the message across. The message is not the medium,get it right ! As long as you appreciate the application of these features stay contented.