Customer Reviews

Oracle8 Tuning (Oracle Press Series)

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

 

 

This is not a book to read straight thru; you don't sit down after dinner and take this up as something to read and refresh your skills. It is a handbook. A book to refer to. A book to use on site at work. In that light it is excellent and the only reason it received 4 stars was I could not download the queries nor did they come with the book on a diskette or some electronic media. I found this to be an unfortunate flaw in an otherwise good cookbook to have on hand.

Great buy, we improved processing time by 40%, many new techniques for setting up initialization parameters and SQLs.

There is a wealth of information in this book for both new and experienced DBAs. For the new DBA the book presents a panoramic view of database tuning that begins with installing a new instance, coverage of each facet of tuning, and putting it all together as a holistic approach. Experienced DBAs will probably discover that they already know most of the techniques; however, having them collected in a single book that systematically addresses each facet of the tuning process makes for a useful reference.

What I especially like about this book is the collection of rules that are on almost every page. These would have been even more useful if they were repeated in an appendix and cross-referenced to the chapters in which they appear. This would allow DBAs to skim through the rules, then jump to the applicable chapter and drill down into the details. I also like the chapter on Other Database Issues. Even experienced DBAs will discover something new in that chapter.

Some parts of book are irritatingly redundant - the authors state a rule or fact, then restate it again a few paragraphs later. This does not, in my opinion, diminish the overall value of the book, although it can slow you down when you're concentrating on a specific topic.

I found that the best way to read this book for maximum benefit is to do a pass from start to finish with a yellow highlighter. This approach allows you to tag information that may be new to focus upon during the second pass through the book. Also note that the book is true to its title - it thoroughly covers tuning, but only touches upon capacity planning, which is closely related and often included in similar books. This is not a criticism of the book (after all, the title is accurate), but to inform potential readers of what's actually covered.

The book does not add anything over the Professional Series Oracle 8 Tuning Book. Hits a lot of topics superficially. I was expecting a book like this to dig deeper than the Professional Series based on the experience of the authors. Consider this book an abbreviation of the Professional Series meant for the non-professional public. Cost is also about half the cost of the professional series books. This review is appropriate for the Oracle Press books in general. Frank Davis --- Oracle8 Certified Database Admininstrator

I have purchased many Oracle books but this one is one of the best. Recommended to advance users(DBA/Developer's)...... Very well explained examples, enough detail about the syntax used in SQL tuning. Covers all the important topics of Oracle8 tuning and performance such as partitioning table, Parallel Queries, Explain Plan, TKPROF, SQL Trace and performance pack of Oracle Applications. This is a review from an Oracle Instructor and Consultant.

This book is simply a re-hash of their previous Oracle7 book. The book is simplistic and full of mis-statements, inaccuracies, and completely wrong information. Use this book at your own risk, because you will be risking the performance of your database. These "experts" certainly are not!

Great book!! for anyone who is an experienced DBA.. Useless if you started as DBA yesterday...