Customer Reviews

DB2(R) Universal Database for OS/390 v7.1 Certification Guide (IBM (Prentice Hall))

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

 

 

I have taken this exam 516 twice and each time I failed to clear the exam by 1-2 marks. First time I scored 59% and next time 61%, the pass mark is 63%. I must say that I was so close by reading this book alone, but I strongly feel that it is not very comprehensive for clearing the exam.

However, I am preparing again , and this time I am reading most from the on-line IBM manuals, which are very good.The book does not cover some of the topics such as application development, DSN commands, Security etc, in depth , which make quite a substantial portion of exam.

Unfortunatley neither the questions in the book nor in the sample exams at IBM's site give you a real feel, what they are going to ask! Further, I feel that the book as a "Certification Guide" is nowhere near to the actual exam. It does not give a feel as what % of questions will be expected from each chapter or some kind of distribution. Sample questions should be after each chapter for better preparation.

In spite of all these shortcomings, I must confess that this book was very good to cover most of the topics but one has to read the manuals in order to really pass the exam.

It gives you a whole vision of DB2 V7 for OS/390 and Z/OS but it doesn't go into details (Of course none books can do it ) Use it at a reference book , and when needing more details take the IBM manuals (Just to add that text of this book often come from the IBM manuals parts) !
If you passed the 69 tests questions provided in the book for 516 the exam, you can then enroll for the test , because it is quite the same level. The sample tests give you the idea of the questions.

I would not classify this text as a true "Certification Guide" for DB2 for OS/390, but it has much more than some other books that I have read. I was expecting a bit more depth from the authors, who have a high reputation in the DB2 world. It gives a great overview of the subject, but failed to delve into some of the areas that a "Certification Guide" should have. I would hope the authors would write a true "Guide" to provide a complete background for DB2 DBAs and those who wish to train to become one.

This is an excellent book that gives an overall picture of what to expect for the z/OS 702 Examination. The certification portions have all been covered well.

Except for a few typos in a few places, this book is an excellent material and is a handy book for a DBA. I certainly recommend it to anyone wishing to pursue DBA certification.

-PK.Ganapathy

This book is quite possibly the worst written technical book I have read in my 18 year career. It seems as if the driest and dullest portions of the DB2 manuals have been extracted and collected together and called a book; without any regard to editing or amending with graphics.

The material in the book may well cover the necessary topics for the certification test, but the stamina necessary to read it makes this choice clearly a poor one. You would be much better off reading Craig Mullins' latest DB2 Developer's Guide and portions of the DB2 Administration Guide to in preparation for the exams.

I give this book 2 stars only because the material covered seems to closely match what is on the test. Extracting the information from this book, however, is another matter.

This book is not suitable for people who are completely new to DB2 and have never seen an os/390 before. It doesn't go deep with any of the subjects it discussed. It explains acronyms with more acronyms which confused me. You basically learn a little of everything that leads to nothing practical. I did not enjoy this book consider its price. Not to mention I do have knowledge of RDBMS. It's a waste of money.

This is a very good book that gives an overall picture of what to expect for the UDB 516 Examination. This book should be used as a guide and detailed study should be made from IBM Manuals.

It doesnt give you the indepth details for the 702 certification... All topics are covered as an overview

This book is great for DB2 beginners. It has right structure, covers material in sequential order and does not talk much about insignificant matters just to increase the volume, like many other books do. In my view, only one but significant flaw doesn't allow me to call this book exellent - lots of errors and typos in the examples. They are mostly insignificant but very confusing for a novice. I hope the author sorts them out in the second edition which this book definitely deserves.

This is an excellent book that gives an overall picture of what to expect for the z/OS 702 Examination. The certification portions have all been covered well. Except for a few typos in a few places, this book is an excellent material and is a handy book for a DBA. I certainly recommend it to anyone wishing to pursue DB2 702 certification.