Customer Reviews

Oracle8 DBA: SQL and PL/SQL Exam Cram (Exam: 1Z0-001)

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

 

 

I eagerly awaited the arrival of this book from Amazon, thinking that it would surely be the key to an excellent performance on the first OCP test. However, it's been a bit of a disappointment. When I ordered this book I disregarded the very average reviews of the 7.3 edition of the exam cram, thinking that this version would surely be better, it's sort of like a second edition. Now I see what the reviewers were saying though... the book is just really average. It's not written in a clear manner at all. Most of the examples are annoying - a typical example shows 4 or 5 SQL concepts when it could be simpler and clearly show what you need to know. The overall flow of the book is more along the lines of 'here's everything that is an option with SQL and PL/SQL' instead of 'this is what you need to know for the test.' The book goes into detail about every option for every SQL command. Stuff that will never be on the test is therefore covered, while the key topics are lost in the quest for completeness.

I am very surprised Exam Cram published such a bad book. I have used Exam Cram before and have found their books very usefull. This one was the exact opposite. The material and diagrams presented are barely ledgible. I agree with the previous reader about not being able to finish it. It is clearly a waste of money.

Don't buy this book! It doesn't relate in any way with the exam, it's very bad written and full of useless information. I couldn't read more than 100 pages.

Extremely bad book. It talks about items that have nothing to do with SQL, PL/SQL exam. For example: It talks about pctfree, pctused etc. These items belong in DBA not in SQL, PL/SQL. Why is author confusing people? The PL/SQL part of book is extremely week.

I totally agree with the reader from philadelphia, pa. I don't even consider this book is an average book for the exam.

A disorganized rambling of random SQL and Oracle Archecture factoids. Chapters are "organized" so that you basically have read the whole book for the first exam, then all of it all over again for the second exam, because it's all mixed up together.

Instead, use Oracle 8 documentation and Jason Couchman's Oracle 8 DBA Certification Guide. SelfTestSoftware practice exams are also immensely helpful.

I have used other Exam Cram books to pass VB and VC++ exams, but I don't think I could do it with this one. However, it is a great REFERENCE for syntax, etc.

I passed my first Oracle DBA exam today - PL/SQL - with just 43 out of 57 or around 68%. Hey, I know it doesn't sound impressive but I got it just by reading the Oracle Documentation file on those tested sections. I have not found a single book that explains Oracle stuff well. I think the audience intended for this Exam Cram book are people from Mars. However, the documentation file has many good examples and is totally comprehensive for just about anything. In a nutshell, to pass any DBA exam, read the DOCUMENTATION !

I passed OCP SQL and PL/SQL Exam today. BUT I found this book useless. Don't waste your money!

When I firsted reviewed the book, I would have given it a dismal "1" rating. However, I took a look at it again during the home stretch before the actual exam and found this book was beneficial for the test questions. The sample test questions are good at simulating the type of questions you will encounter on the OCP exam. Going through the book exams will help train you to take OCP exams, making you sensitive to the types of tricks you will encounter.

Similar to other reviewers, I was disturbed at the many errors in the book. However, if you use this book only for the test questions, you may not be disappointed.