Database Management Systems

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Database Management Systems provides comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of the fundamentals of database systems. Coherent explanations and practical examples have made this one of the leading texts in the field. The third edition continues in this tradition, enhancing it with more practical material.

The new edition has been reorganized to allow more flexibility in the way the course is taught. Now, instructors can easily choose whether they would like to teach a course which emphasizes database application development or a course that emphasizes database systems issues. New overview chapters at the beginning of parts make it possible to skip other chapters in the part if you don't want the detail.

More applications and examples have been added throughout the book, including SQL and Oracle examples. The applied flavor is further enhanced by the two new database applications chapters.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1104 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math; 3 edition (August 14, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072465638
• ISBN-13: 978-0072465631
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #54,970 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This book is TERRIBLE, April 20, 2004

By	Kristi Jacobson (Makanda, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Database Management Systems (Hardcover)

This book was required for my database course, so I didn't really have a choice about buying it. It has numerous typos (I stopped marking them when I hit 7 or 8 by the third chapter) which often cause problems because they're not spelling errors but rather substitutions of terms or incorrect figure numbers. Also, a large portion of the questions at the end of chapter 5 cover material that is not presented until chapter 6.

I'm a college student so I don't have much money. I've had to buy 2 additional books for this course just to understand what's going on. There are VERY few examples (it really seems like the more complex the topic, the fewer examples are shown). Figures are usually only printed once, even if they are referred to repeatedly, so be prepared to spend time flipping back and forth to view a table that was shown to you several chapters ago.

Moreover, formal definitions are given without explanation. As a 'learning' tool this book does more harm than good. It might have some value as a reference book because it concisely covers a very wide range of topics. The book makes more sense if you read it when you already know/understand everything (maybe that's why some instructors seem to love it). However, for students it's like trying to put a puzzle together when you don't have all the pieces and you don't have a clue what the picture is supposed to look like. By the way, I'm also a straight 'A' senior, and trying to learn from this book has been one of the most frustrating and unrewarding experiences I've had in college thus far.

Just BEWARE!!!

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, practical book on basic DB internals, April 3, 2006

By	Paul Rogers (Fremont, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Database Management Systems (Hardcover)

A few years back, I created a special-purpose, custom-built, high-speed relational DBMS using just this book and general computer science knowledge. Darn thing blew the socks off more general purpose solutions and was very stable even after a crash. The book covers access methods, indexing, logging, crash recovery and other basics.

If you want to know how database systems are built at the nuts & bolts level, this is for you. If you want to know how to use a database system, or how to design an application database then this is not your book; choose a "user-level" book instead. If you want to know about the latest research directions, then pass on this one as well since it only covers the tried & true basics.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introductional book w/ focus on design, February 13, 2001

By	Christian Gleissner (Nürnberg, Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Database Management Systems (Hardcover)

I compared this book with two other reference books (Date and Elmasri/Navathe). This book is the best of the three when it comes to presenting the whole database field with a special focus on the design of databases. The key differences to the other books I compared it with are that Date focuses much more on the relational model, whilst Elmasri/Navathe has many side-notes on Oracle and Access. This book by Ramakrishnan/Gehrke deals more with design aspects of databases and gives a broad, yet also somewhat deep introduction in this respect. It does not say much about any database systems on the market but focuses more on concepts. If you are specifically interested in database design, I would recommend getting an advanced book that deals with these issues. However, if you are looking for a general dbms reference book with a special focus on design, this is the best book on the market. Unlike other books (for instance Date), it is also written in a very effective manner and comes right to the point. This easy style is especially advantageous when it comes to more difficult topics such as normalization. Where others delight in formalization, this book actually explains. Solutions for half of the questions in the book can be downloaded from the author's website by anyone.