OCP: Oracle9i Certification Kit (Hardcover)

by Chip Dawes (Author), Biju Thomas (Author), Doug Stuns (Author), Matthew Weishan (Author), Joseph C. Johnson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Take charge of your career with the Oracle Certified Professional (OCP) certification for Oracle9i. Oracle is the leading database on the market, putting Oracle database administrators in high demand, and the new Oracle9i OCP program was recently ranked #2 on the CertCities.com list of "The 10 Hottest Certifications for 2002." The Oracle9i Certification Kit includes Study Guides for each of the four exams required for OCP certification-- Introduction to Oracle9i SQL (1Z1-007), Oracle9i DBA Fundamentals I (1Z1-031), Oracle9i DBA Fundamentals II (1Z1-032), and Database Performance Tuning (1Z1-033). Organized for optimal learning and retention, each Study Guide provides in-depth coverage of all exam objectives, hundreds of challenging review questions, and a searchable electronic version of the entire book. No other Oracle9i self-study product compares!

The Training kit includes four training manuals and four CD-ROMs.

From the Back Cover
The Oracle Certification Solution from Sybex

The new Oracle9i certification program offers three certification tiers that are built to fit the needs of IT professionals as well as organizations looking to hire them. As you gain more skills and knowledge through the combined efforts of hands-on experience and training, you can gain more credibility with each new tier of certification you obtain. Sybex has a comprehensive line of Study Guides that will get you in position to approach the exams with confidence.

The Best Oracle9i Book/CD Package on the Market!

Get ready for the Oracle9i OCP exams with the most comprehensive and challenging sample tests anywhere! Chapter-by-chapter exam coverage of all the review questions from the books. Each CD includes two bonus exams.

Search through each Study Guide for the information you need. Access each Oracle9i Study Guide, complete with figures and tables, in electronic format. Use the Electronic Flashcards to job your memory and prep last-minutes for the exam! Reinforce your understanding of key concepts with challenging flashcard-style questions. (Now available for your Palm handheld as well!)

Contains the following: OCA/OCP: Introduction to Oracle9i(tm) SQL Study Guide (1Z0-007) OCA/OCP: Oracle9i(tm) DBA Fundamentals I Study Guide (1Z0-031) OCP: Oracle9i(tm) DBA Fundamentals II Study Guide (1Z0-032) OCP: Oracle9i(tm) Performance Tuning Study Guide (1Z0-033)

Four CDs with Leading-Edge Software: Testing Engine with Hundreds of Challenging Questions Eight Bonus Exams Electronic Flashcards for PCs and Palm Handhelds All Four Books in Digital Format

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 2108 pages
• Publisher: Sybex; Package edition (June 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0782140661
• ISBN-13: 978-0782140668
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 8.2 x 6.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #370,718 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Considerations if you choose this set as your source for OCA, January 18, 2003

By	Jason Bourne (Canada) - See all my reviews

Well, I may say that I give my scoring based on the average of scoring for only two books of the set, and this is because I have had both the tests and succeeded with them, while I have not started with the others, so I'm simply going to ignore them for this review:

1) Introduction to Oracle 9i SQL (Rate *****): {Passing score 39/57}
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This book is briliant indeed, but .. it is not easy for begginers to start with, and one of the very simple reasons, while it starts by talking about something (INSERT statement for example), you discover examples of things has not been exaplained yet (INSERT AS SELECT)!

But in general, this is a GREAT book to be prepared, and confident for the test; it helped me pass the test by 52/57.

2) Oracle 9i Database Fundamentals (Rate ***): {Passing score 44/60}
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Unfortunately, even if the book claims to cover ALL the Oracle objectives, surprisingly you see things in the exam, which are not covered well!

I failed my first exam, and scored 43/60 (no comment!). I was disappointed, because I faced about 8 questions I really did not have any idea about answering them, and the other multiple choice questions (3 of 6 and 4 of 6 for example), I knew some, and was unable to determine the last choice, because of the poor coverage of some areas!

Having failed my exam, I decided to study from the online books of OTN (Oracle Technology Network), and during my study I came to the answers of those 8 questions! and had the test again, and passed with a score of 56/60!

To mention some of the weaknesses of this book:

1) Poor coverage of Globalization Support, and if you want my advice, please do not study Globalization support from this book, or kiss you Globalization questions goodbye!
2) Weak or missing explanation of the following areas:
- Tablespaces, especially in the areas of the Temporary and Undo, Locally and Dictionary managed tablespaces.
- Redo Log files, and checkpoint not complete problems.

All this does not mean this is a bad book, but .. do not depend just on it to pass the exam, try to find another source of information beside this book, so you do not fail!

54 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Value & quality crammed into a little box, August 26, 2002

By	A Pieterse (Stellenbosch, South Africa) - See all my reviews

I am planning on writing a seperate review for all of these books once I am done with it. I just thought I'd share my two cents on the whole set for anyone doubting whether they should purchase it. The set contains all four study guides that will help you prepare for the four exams of the OCP 9i qualification. The writing style is understanding and they have some nice real world samples that kind of put things in perspective. The CD-Rom with its flashcards, chapter tests and two bonus exams for each book makes the whole deal worthwhile. Although I have not had any experience with other study guides other than Sybex's, it will take a lot to beat the quality at the price you pay.

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars these are great books, February 26, 2003

By A Customer

okay, i'm not a salesman nor do i work for the publisher. If you search amazon.com for the individual book titles in this kit you'll find LOTS of great user reviews. that's why I bought this kit (as opposed to the many negative reviews for the Oracle press books and others). I took the first exam last week and passed it and I can tell you that this book helped me tremendously. The writing style is factual, with no fluff, and it's organized very well with plenty of great examples to illustrate concepts. Plus the CD-ROM contains the books in PDF format so searches are easy. I guess the only criticism I can think of is related to the practice exams. Don't get me wrong they were awesome (an exam for each chapter plus 3 sample exams and hundreds of flash cards), but the real exam had different types of questions, I mean the real exam was more challenging and thought-provoking. I breezed through the book's sample exams but used nearly the entire 2 hours taking the real one. I'm studying for the second exam now and so far love the style of the second book too. Now that I've been thru the first exam I think I know what to expect from Oracle so I'm reading the second book and taking the practice exams with a different perspective. These are great books, I can't imagine why people would give them anything less than 4 or 5 star unless they had a grudge against the authors or something...