SQL

MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-431): Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2005 Implementation and Maintenance (Pro-Certification)

Average customer rating:

Extremely well written
Looks pretty good so far...
Good Book, Excellent in PDF Reader
Informative and very easy to understand...
Lots of mistakes

MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-431): Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2005 Implementation and Maintenance (Pro-Certification)
Solid Quality Learning
Manufacturer: Microsoft Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Certification Central | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Database Management Systems | Databases | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Databases | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Software | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Computer Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

General | Software Books | Custom Stores | Stores | Software
Similar Items:

MCITP Self-Paced Training Kit (Exams 70-431, 70-443, 70-444): Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Database Administrator Core Requirements (Pro Certification)
MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-536): Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Application Development Foundation
Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2005: T-SQL Querying (Solid Quality Learning)
Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2005 Administrator's Pocket Consultant (Pro-Administrator's Pocket Consultant)
Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2005: Database Essentials Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft))

ASIN: 073562271X

Book Description

Announcing an all-new MCTS Training Kit designed to help maximize your performance on Exam 70-431, a core exam for the new Microsoft IT Professional certifications. This kit packs the tools and features wanted mostincluding in-depth, self-paced training based on final exam content; rigorous, objective-by-objective review; exam tips from expert, exam-certified authors; and a robust testing suite. It also provides real-world scenarios, case study examples, and troubleshooting labs for skills and expertise that you can apply to the job. Focusing on SQL Server 2005, this official study guide covers topics such as installing and configuring SQL Server, implementing database mirroring, managing database snapshots, working with XML and flat files, managing replication, backing up and restoring a database, and more.

Customer Reviews:

Extremely well written.......2007-05-30

I have been working with SQL Server since version 4.2. Since then, there have been a lot of books written, but few of this quality. The principal author has a gift for clear and succinct writing that only comes from knowing a topic well. Time and time again I marveled at how few words he used to explain complex technical topics. I recommend this book highly not only for those seeking certification, but also for those who wish to learn how to implement and maintain SQL Server 2005. Money well spent.

Looks pretty good so far..........2007-05-08

I like the topics they are covering. However as mentioned, some of the coverage seems a little light. Hey a book can only be so big.

One annoyance was the example on page 175, the subquery is incorrect as it should be 'Select EmployeeId', not 'Select AddressId'. No wonder someone was confused.

SQL Server 2005 is a big subject. This book takes a good stab at it.

Good Book, Excellent in PDF Reader.......2007-05-08

I liked the feature in the electronic document (PDF) to be able to have the document read to you in the Microsoft Sam voice....

Informative and very easy to understand..........2007-04-11

This book is an absolute must for IT people who are migrating to SQL Server 2005 and who are seeking certification. Topics are logically laid out and well explained. The CD's that come with the book are great tools to prep for the cert test.

Lots of mistakes.......2007-04-04

I don't know what edtion this is, but the first edition has lots of mistakes in them. When I came accross the index chapter I kept banging my head against the wall since the example didn't make sense, sure enough, it was a typo...
Go online and find the list of typos in this book. The link is on the CD what comes with the book.
I found it easy to read though.

MCITP Self-Paced Training Kit (Exams 70-431, 70-443, 70-444): Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Database Administrator Core Requirements (Pro Certification)

Average customer rating:

Make sure you check for the corrections!
Honest purchase
Really Hands on Focus
Excellent Resource for Cert & Learning
Good for the exam and for reference afterwards

MCITP Self-Paced Training Kit (Exams 70-431, 70-443, 70-444): Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Database Administrator Core Requirements (Pro Certification)
Solid Quality Learning
Manufacturer: Microsoft Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Certification Central | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Database Management Systems | Databases | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Databases | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Software | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Testing | Education | Reference | Subjects | Books

Study Guides | Reference | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Computer Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Reference Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Qualifying Textbooks - Spring 2007 | Stores | Books

General | Software Books | Custom Stores | Stores | Software
Similar Items:

MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-431): Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2005 Implementation and Maintenance (Pro-Certification)
Inside Microsoft (r) SQL Server (tm) 2005: The Storage Engine
Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2005: T-SQL Querying (Solid Quality Learning)
Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2005: T-SQL Programming (Pro-Developer)
Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2005: Database Essentials Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft))

ASIN: 0735623775

Book Description

Get in-depth training and practice with the skills measured by the core exams for Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Database Administrator certificationall in one box! Covering Exams 70-431, 70-443, and 70-444, these three training kits include exam prep and practice tests to help you maximize your performance. You get official Microsoft study guides, plus practice tests on CD to help you assess your skills. They come packed with the tools and features that exam candidates want mostincluding in-depth, self-paced training based on final exam content; rigorous, objective-by-objective review; exam tips from expert, exam-certified authors; and customizable testing options. They also provide real-world case scenarios and practice exercises for skills and expertise you can apply to the job.

Customer Reviews:

Make sure you check for the corrections!.......2007-03-20

I have just finished the 70-431 book. The book is fairly well written, however, it is a full of errors! 8 Pages of corrections so far. It would have been nice if the authors/editors had tried the exercises at least.
I don't believe reference books should be like OS's that need a service pack in order to get through the written practice's. A little quality control would have done wonders!

Honest purchase.......2007-02-21

Nice package that includes all you need to pass the exams.

In case you need to learn more advanced aspects of using SQL in advanced situations, perhaps you should choose another book.

More practice questions would be nice.

Really Hands on Focus.......2007-02-17

I am going through the first of the exam and have found this to be an excellent resource and covers more than just passing the exam as each new topic is coverred with step by step guide for self learning.
The contents and scope is also great.
Highly recommended for people wanting to pass as well as learn the concepts

Excellent Resource for Cert & Learning.......2007-02-11

I've only gone through the first of the books in the kit so far, but found it to be an excellent source of information for coming up to speed on SQL Server 2005.

Good for the exam and for reference afterwards.......2007-01-26

Pretty good coverage on measuring and troubleshooting server performance and query performance. Good chapter on index optimization and maintenance. This book also covers replication and security well. All in all, a valuable reference that will also help you pass the exam.

Average customer rating:

Delivered the item as mentioned in the item description.
An utter waste
Beginners... Beware!
Complete reference for Hibernate
Finally, a useful book!

Java Persistence with Hibernate
Christian Bauer , and Gavin King
Manufacturer: Manning Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Databases | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computer Science | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Software | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Computer Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

General | Software Books | Custom Stores | Stores | Software
Similar Items:

Java Concurrency in Practice
Pro Spring
Spring in Action
Enterprise JavaBeans
Expert Spring MVC and Web Flow (Expert)

ASIN: 1932394885

Book Description

Persistence-the ability of data to outlive an instance of a program-is central to modern applications. Hibernate, the most popular Java persistence tool, provides automatic and transparent object/relational mapping making it a snap to work with SQL databases in Java applications. Hibernate applications are cheaper, more portable, and more resilient to change. Because it conforms to the new EJB 3.0 and Java Persistence 1.0 standard, Hibernate allows the developer to seamlessly create efficient, scalable Java EE applications.

Java Persistence with Hibernate explores Hibernate by developing an application that ties together hundreds of individual examples. You'll immediately dig into the rich programming model of Hibernate 3.2 and Java Persistence, working through queries, fetching strategies, caching, transactions, conversations, and more. You'll also appreciate the well-illustrated discussion of best practices in database design, object/relational mapping, and optimization techniques.

In this revised edition of the bestselling Hibernate in Action, authors Christian Bauer and Gavin King-the founder of the Hibernate project-cover Hibernate 3.2 in detail along with the EJB 3.0 and Java Persistence standard.

Customer Reviews:

Delivered the item as mentioned in the item description........2007-06-12

Delivered the item as mentioned in the item description. Very happy.

An utter waste.......2007-06-07

The book is one of the most painful experiences I've had in recent time. I'm doing a Ph.D. right now. I know about pain.

Every chapter and section gives every minute detail of the APIs discussed, all the time. It's tough to describe how bad this makes it --- it feels like they're reading the code line by line and discussing every design decision made, in journal format. Paragraphs of side notes and gotchas are integrated right in the text, right in the normal text stream --- making it incredibly painful to filter out the important parts from the irrelevant. It's impossible to tell which parts are irrelevant until you're reading halfway into them, wasting the reader's time, patience, and memory. Then when you try to skip around, half the details you do need are just listed 'as discussed earlier.'

The examples cover little more than using single methods at a time. With the text being unreadable, it also lacks any coherent examples of even a basic application, putting anything they discuss together.

Fundamentally the text assumes that you're going to read and memorize every part of it before doing anything -- for over 800 pages, it's mindblowingly bad.

As a reference, the lack of organization guarantees you'll be digging through dozens of pages to get even basic answers. There is no reference material per se, it's all just reading through what you hope are relevant sections of the book. The index is only 16 pages, and completely worthless in helping you navigate.

3 stars for containing everything you need in there, somewhere. -1 star for being so sadistic about it. -1 star for being worthless as a reference.

Beginners... Beware!.......2007-05-26

I must say that I completely agree with Scott P. Stewart's review. The authors should have kept the book "pure hibernate" oriented. Constant references to JPA, interspersing xml mappings and annotations (again there is hibernate-specific & JPA standard here), causes the reader to loose focus on the subject. Otherwise, the authors have done a good job of explaining the concepts better than other hibernate books. I could find no better alternative on the subject.

If you are a beginner, you may want to first read the previous edition of this book - Hibernate in Action or grab a copy of Beginning Hibernate by Jeff Linwood & Dave Minter which I find less intimidating.

Complete reference for Hibernate.......2007-05-25

This book not only covers standard Hibernate persistence, but also JPA persistence. It covers all topics from simple to advanced. It's a complete reference manual for using Hibernate. The only thing it's lacking is coverage of how to set up Hibernate/JPA with Spring, but that's probably not in the scope of this book.

Finally, a useful book!.......2007-05-21

This is one of the few books I have bought which actually has useful information. And, it provides the information in a clear, concise way. If you want to understand how Hibernate works, this is the book for you!

PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites: Visual QuickPro Guide (2nd Edition) (Visual QuickPro Guide)

Average customer rating:

Excellent starter
Practical, project-oriented approach
Great book, easy to understand
An all time favourite
Great introduction to PHP and MySQL

PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites: Visual QuickPro Guide (2nd Edition) (Visual QuickPro Guide)
Larry Ullman
Manufacturer: Peachpit Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Computer Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Qualifying Textbooks - Spring 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

PHP for the World Wide Web, Second Edition (Visual QuickStart Guide)
HTML, XHTML, and CSS, Sixth Edition (Visual Quickstart Guide)
MySQL, Second Edition (Visual QuickStart Guide)
PHP and MySQL Web Development (4th Edition) (Developer's Library)
JavaScript for the World Wide Web, Fifth Edition (Visual QuickStart Guide)

ASIN: 0321336577

Book Description

It hasn't taken Web developers long to discover that when it comes to creating dynamic, database-driven Web sites, MySQL and PHP provide a winning open source combination. Add this book to the mix, and there's no limit to the powerful, interactive Web sites that users can create. With step-by-step instructions, complete scripts, and expert tips to guide readers, veteran author and database designer Larry Ullman gets right down to business: After grounding readers with separate discussions of first the scripting language (PHP) and then the database program (MySQL), he goes on to cover security, sessions and cookies, and using additional Web tools, with several sections devoted to creating sample applications. This guide is indispensable for Web designers who want to replace their static sites with something more dynamic. The companion Web site includes source code, support forums, and extra tutorials. In addition to being updated for the most recent releases of MySQL and PHP, this new edition offers 25% new material, including updated examples for improved clarity and comprehension and new installation instructions for PHP, MySQL, and other related technologies.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent starter.......2007-06-08

We had to hire a programmer to construct a MySql database and construct the PHP code to complete the site project. Time was critical.
After the job was done, however, I had the time to teach myself the basics of MySql, especially, and enough PHP to modify the new code, or at least understand what was done.
I am still going through the book as time permits, but the book is an excellent starter, and gets you through the basics with excellent examples, well-written explanations and plenty of screen prints to show you what you should see onscreen. I really like the MySql section. I would highly recommend this book to anyone anxious to get up to speed on MySql and PHP.

Practical, project-oriented approach.......2007-05-14

This book was an excellent introduction for someone like me, a professional programmer with no web programming experience, to get started. The project being carried through the book was broad enough to cover a diverse set of topics, and the code examples permitted exploration and experimentation. It doesn't cover object-oriented PHP, but that can be picked up later. I don't think the book will serve as a reference later, but it provides a lot of pointers to other reference information, including the web site associated with the book.

Great book, easy to understand.......2007-04-25

This is a great book, easy to understand and use as a reference guide through my first PHP/MYSQL creations. The supporting website is informative and the supporting forums are very helpful, Larry (the author) has replied to my posts a few times which led to fixing my problems quite easily. Well done Larry and thanks for your support!

An all time favourite.......2007-04-24

If other tech book writers could learn to write like Larry Ullman does, we'd all be a hell of a lot smarter. I picked this up as a complete newbie to php, with some sql experience and found it very easy to use, but also very informative. I have used it as both a learning php guide, and also as a quick reference to re-check my syntaxes and code use. The book contains useful and intelligent examples, backed up with great support from the publisher and the author. I count this as one of the best investments in a book I have ever made.

Great introduction to PHP and MySQL.......2007-04-07

this book was great. the author explained everything very clearly and was easy to follow. I read and understood everything the first time through. I now use the book as a reference and it also does the job there for basic to moderate PHP.

Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2005: T-SQL Querying (Solid Quality Learning)

Average customer rating:

Amazing and Informative
This is an outstanding book....
Well worth your valuable learning time
Excellent info but with complex style !
Pretty good

Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2005: T-SQL Querying (Solid Quality Learning)
Itzik Ben-Gan , Lubor Kollar , and Dejan Sarka
Manufacturer: Microsoft Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Database Management Systems | Databases | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Databases | Software | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Software | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Computer Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Databases | Software Books | Custom Stores | Stores | Software

General | Software Books | Custom Stores | Stores | Software
Similar Items:

Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2005: T-SQL Programming (Pro-Developer)
Inside Microsoft (r) SQL Server (tm) 2005: The Storage Engine
Programming Microsoft SQL Server 2005
MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-431): Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2005 Implementation and Maintenance (Pro-Certification)
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services 2005

ASIN: 0735623139

Book Description

A comprehensive, hands-on reference for database developers and administrators, this book focuses on advanced querying techniques using Transact-SQL (T-SQL), the database programming language built into SQL Server. Includes code and table examples.

Customer Reviews:

Amazing and Informative.......2007-06-12

There is an amazing wealth of knowledge contained in this book. The authors did a really great job of organizing the information, as well as providing examples that you can use to dive right in. As I've walked around my office and visited other database developers I've noticed this book on many desks along with his other book T-SQL Programming, which I will buy next.

This is an outstanding book...........2007-04-22

You don't always have the opportunity to learn from masters like Itzik Ben-Gan and the other co-authors...but you WILL learn from the T-SQL masters in this book!

This is an OUSTANDING BOOK and even though I've been acquainted with T-SQL for nearly four years I'm amazed at the insight and depth found in this book.

If there is any "ding" against this book it's that the book is not for absolute beginners...better have at least a clue before cracking these pages.

I also heartily recommend Itzik's T-SQL Programming book...buy these both at the same time!

Well worth your valuable learning time.......2007-03-29

Well written, concise, clear, and fun all wrapped into one cover. One of the top books on T-SQL I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

Excellent info but with complex style !.......2007-03-20

This book is having excellent information , but reading it is not fun , its complex , sometime's boring ! , author's writing style prefers complexity not simplicity approaching demonstration of problem solving and tuning examples, also he should reduce statements like `I will show you later' , `will give links at end of chapter' , `in other book will talk about this' , in this chapter will talk about so and so then give summary then give links then ,... and the like , just write and let the reader finds out the info when it arrives .

But still , it has an excellent info - IF - you can digest the meal !

Pretty good.......2007-03-12

Inside T-SQL was right on track for what I was looking for, namely a better understanding of T-SQL. Overall, a pretty good manual and recommended.

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services 2005

Average customer rating:

Excellent overview
great book
Simple, direct, thorough
Excellent Book
Very helpful

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services 2005
Brian Larson
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Database Management Systems | Databases | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Databases | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Software | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Computer Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

General | Software Books | Custom Stores | Stores | Software
Similar Items:

Delivering Business Intelligence with Microsoft SQL Server 2005
Professional SQL Server 2005 Integration Services (Programmer to Programmer)
The Microsoft Data Warehouse Toolkit: With SQL Server 2005 and the Microsoft Business Intelligence Toolset
Professional SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services
Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2005: T-SQL Querying (Solid Quality Learning)

ASIN: 0072262397

Book Description

Microsoft's Reporting Services product is a vital part of the SQL Server 2005 business intelligence platform, but it works with virtually any data source. This hands-on guide explains how to transform data into insightful and interactive Web-based reports using Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services. With coverage of everything from installation to administration, the book demonstrates how to use this powerful server-based reporting solution to improve business decision-making and facilitate company-wide -- even worldwide -- communication.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent overview.......2007-06-14

Brian manages to give the reader everything one would need to know to start creating their own reports in a very readable, approachable book.

Brian starts by introducing his case study and walking the reader through the install of the database. What I like about the database is it's sized well (not oppressively large, but large enough to allow you to create realistic reports). He then spends a chapter on SQL basics. Most people first getting into Reporting Services haven't done a lot of SQL, so it's nice to have the chapter there.

He then moves on to the wizard. He shows off both the table as well as the matrix, and how you can modify the reports that the wizard creates.

Several chapters are spent on creating reports from scratch, highlighting all of the major tools in SSRS - charts, tables, etc. Every example is succinct, but realistic enough. Each exercise is step-by-step with an explanation at the end as to what it is you just did.

I do have a couple of small complaints here. I could not find the SQL queries anywhere on the site or in the download. Maybe I missed them, but it would have been nice to have the SQL ready to go. The book, while fantastic for first learning SSRS, doesn't lend itself well to being a reference guide. There are several options that show up that Brian doesn't stop to explain fully.

From there, he moves into managing your report server using the Report Manager. He was mostly step-by-step here, but I did think the section on Security could have been a tad clearer.

He finishes up in the Appendix with the Report Builder, easily one of the biggest features in SSRS 2005.

All-in-all this is a fantastic book if you are looking to get into SSRS for the first time. Don't let the size of the book fool you; since the majority of it is steyp-by-step instructions, it reads much faster than its size would indicate. You will need to be in front of a computer in order to read the book, which works well for me since I need to do it to grok it.

My only small complaint about the book is that it doesn't lend itself well to being a reference guide later. It's not enough of a beef, though, to knock a star off the review.

great book.......2007-05-10

we have over a dozen SQL SERVER 2005 suite books in our office. The thing that makes this better then all the others, is that while some people like reading these books, and others like books as references only - this book seems to satisfy both groups of developers at my office.
The most used SSRS book at the office by a mile.

Simple, direct, thorough.......2007-04-24

The great reviews of this book here are well-deserved. So far I've read only the actual report design chapters, which is the meat of the book, but I have no doubt the other chapters are as good. This is one of those books where you learn by doing. If you don't like books where you have to follow exercises by wrote, don't get this. Even for those who learn well in this way may get a little tired toward the end, but the reward is a good familiarity with many of the features of SSRS. The book is very understandable and I rarely had to read something twice to know what he was talking about. While I have experience as a web application developer and designing basic relational databases, I'd yet to use any reporting tool like this and Larson made it a very easy transition.

Excellent Book.......2007-04-14

This is a really good book , has excellent info , easy to understand , although I would have preferred direct description to topics, not learn by doing approach the author selected as I'm coming from other reporting tools and would have understand more complex description but it still an excellent book as first start to reporting services, Highly recommended!

Very helpful.......2007-01-20

This book has been very valuable in helping me understand SQL Server Reporting Services 2005.

Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2005: T-SQL Programming (Pro-Developer)

Average customer rating:

T-SQL Book at Its Best!!!!!!!!!!
Excelent
A must have for T-SQL programmers using SQL Srvr 2005
Phd in SQL
For serious T-SQL developers

Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2005: T-SQL Programming (Pro-Developer)
Itzik Ben-gan , Dejan Sarka , and Roger Wolter
Manufacturer: Microsoft Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Database Management Systems | Databases | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Databases | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Software | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Computer Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

General | Software Books | Custom Stores | Stores | Software
Similar Items:

Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2005: T-SQL Querying (Solid Quality Learning)
Inside Microsoft (r) SQL Server (tm) 2005: The Storage Engine
Programming Microsoft SQL Server 2005
MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-431): Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2005 Implementation and Maintenance (Pro-Certification)
Professional SQL Server 2005 Integration Services (Programmer to Programmer)

ASIN: 0735621977

Book Description

This thorough, hands-on reference for database developers and administrators delivers expert guidance on sophisticated uses of Transact-SQL (T-SQL)—one of the most familiar and powerful programming languages for SQL Server. Written by a T-SQL guru, this guide focuses on language features and how they are interpreted and processed by the SQL Server execution engine. You'll get in-depth coverage of the sophisticated uses of T-SQL, including triggers, user-defined functions, exception handling, and more. The book explains and compares solutions to database-development problems in both SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005, discussing the new T-SQL programming features added to SQL Server 2005 in detail. Includes extensive code samples, table examples, and logic puzzles to help database developers and administrators understand the intricacies and help promote mastery of T-SQL.

Customer Reviews:

T-SQL Book at Its Best!!!!!!!!!!.......2007-05-23

This book has lots of sample code for developers to follow. I bought a book "Advanced Transact-SQL for SQL Server 2000" written by Itzik Ben-gan about five years and loved the book. This book did great job in the SQL Scripts where you might need to spent sometime read through it.

This book is a gem for SQL developers!!! Highly recommanded!!!

Excelent.......2007-05-07

This book is a must-have, even for those who uses other SQL Databases... Totally Amazing!

A must have for T-SQL programmers using SQL Srvr 2005.......2007-04-22

There are normal people, smart people, and REALLY SMART people, and the author definitely fits into the really smart category. And he has used his talent to craft an outstanding book for the SQL Server 2005 database programmer. I consider it a "must-have" resource and I also strongly recommend his T-SQL Querying book.

I have been amazed at how much I learn each time I crack the cover and very much like how the author considers alternate programming options while reviewing execution plans of the various options.

I also like how the book gives attention to all the major available SQL 2005 programming tools including a lengthy treatment of Service Broker.

Phd in SQL.......2007-01-17

If there were a PHD given for SQL proficiency, Itzik would deserve it.
This is a great book. Provides some good insight and ideas on solving some tough problems. Highly recommend it.

For serious T-SQL developers.......2007-01-10

I do not want to repeat the other reviews. I'll say: Professional level.

SQL Queries for Mere Mortals: A Hands-On Guide to Data Manipulation in SQL

Average customer rating:

AWESOME BOOK
SQL Queries for Mere Mortals
You Won't Be an Overnight Expert, But...
Incredible
Absolutely outstanding book!

SQL Queries for Mere Mortals: A Hands-On Guide to Data Manipulation in SQL
Michael J. Hernandez , and John L. Viescas
Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Database Management Systems | Databases | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Databases | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Databases | Software | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Software | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Computer Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Qualifying Textbooks - Spring 2007 | Stores | Books

Databases | Software Books | Custom Stores | Stores | Software

General | Software Books | Custom Stores | Stores | Software
Similar Items:

Database Design for Mere Mortals: A Hands-On Guide to Relational Database Design, Second Edition
Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes, Third Edition
SQL For Dummies (Sql for Dummies)
SQL Pocket Guide (Pocket References)
SQL Bible

ASIN: 0201433362

Amazon.com

To the people who are accomplished in its use, Structured Query Language (SQL) is a highly capable, eminently flexible, even beautiful way of describing the data that you want from a database, or the changes that you want to make to a database. For the rest of us, however, SQL is a first-class nuisance that we do our best to avoid by relying on relatively user-friendly--but usually less powerful--tools. SQL Queries for Mere Mortals aims to bring SQL-phobes closer to the first camp by tutoring them carefully in what SQL can do.

The authors recognize that SQL queries usually come about as a result of questions from human beings, and so usefully spend a fair bit of time showing how to convert, say, "In what cities do our customers live?" into, "Select city from the customers table" and, finally, "SELECT city FROM customers" in SQL. They call this the "translation and clean up" process, and it's a fine approach. They don't press it too far, however, and are equally adept at presenting straight explanations of SQL syntax elements in prose. They spend a lot of energy graphically diagramming aspects of SQL syntax in a format that requires some up-front study. A particular reader might prefer text capsules to this arrow-intensive format, but other learners might like the graphical syntax diagrams. --David Wall

Topics covered: ANSI SQL/92 for people who need to use it to make queries against business databases. The authors introduce one or two syntax elements at a time--SELECT, WHERE, JOIN, UNION, and so on--and cover data extraction, data insertion, filtering, joins, calculations, and other capabilities of generic SQL.

Customer Reviews:

AWESOME BOOK.......2007-06-08

This book is very well written. It is very intuitive for both persons who want to spice up their query knowledge and/or those who need a refresher. Having been away from SQL for a while it was a good "crash" course refresher. I highly recommend it. -----

SQL Queries for Mere Mortals.......2007-04-17

SQL Queries for Mere Mortals: A Hands-On Guide to Data Manipulation in SQL

I very well written and concise, easy to understand piece of work. Dont be fooled that since it was written for SQL 7 (2000) that the information is outdated and is not valid, it is definately still current infact this lays the foundation for you to understand why SQL Language is important in designing relationship databases such as Microsoft Access (all versions). I would have paid triple the pieces for this valuable information.

You Won't Be an Overnight Expert, But..........2007-01-17

...you'll be well on your way. I bought this book (and it's database design partner) about six years ago when I started dabbling in databases. It gave me all the knowledge I needed to get started and it was more than enough to pique my interest.

You can't stop your SQL learning with this book, but if you use it as a launchpad to learn more, you'll be fine. I've gotten more than a couple of jobs that required database/SQL knowledge in the years since I've read/used this book, but there was a lot of trial and error along the way. Now, SQL is just like a second language to me and it all started with this book.

Incredible.......2007-01-02

I had a year's experience with SQL queries when I purchased this book, but I am so glad that I did. It is by far one of the most useful Comp Science books that I have bought. I do not, however, recommend it to people who need to learn SQL stuff ASAP, because it contains enough information to confuse the Hell out of ya.

Absolutely outstanding book!.......2007-01-01

Hey, I loved this book! I am a 15 year veteran developer who hasn't had the need since graduate school to build very complex queries since I always had a DBA or such on my team to do the work. So, my real-life experience of queries amounted to little more than "SELECT colname FROM tablename WHERE condition".

Recently, though, while building a sophisticated report interface to an application, I had the opportunity and the need to do more than simple selects, so I went looking for a book and found this one which seemed precisely suited for my needs.

A newbie reviewer of this book complained that it didn't teach him about INSERT, UPDATE, and CREATE TABLE. Well, a chisel is not a hammer, but just as they don't look even similar to each other, you would have thought that the title of this book would have given neophyte a clue, but I guess not.

This book is absolutely great, and even fun to read! Really, I read it over my vacation and had a wonderful time. It clearly and logically takes you through the whole query structure step by step with working exercises that use the supplied tables and data. It teaches you standard SQL, and then mentions how it maps to proprietary variations found in the major RDBMS's.

I don't know how this book would work for a newbie, but if you've written enough simple queries and wanted to do more, this book just lays it all out for you. I now know how to improve the queries behind dozens of the reports in my current project, and now I can design incredibly sophisticated dashboards using BIRT for BAM and OLAP purposes. I've always wanted to do dashboards with speedometer widgets, and now I know how to get the information for them.

Really, although I am still not very experienced, I have total confidence that I can now tackle the most complex queries my current and planned projects will ever require. This book empowered me in ways that few of the literally hundreds of CS books that I have read have ever even approached.

Average customer rating:

Mind-expanding
Too long; get the Sams 10 minute series
Everything you need
Good tutorial on and selection of recipes solving problems with SQL
Bring something new in my arsenal

SQL Cookbook (Cookbooks (O'Reilly))
Anthony Molinaro
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Database Management Systems | Databases | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Databases | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Software | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Programming | O'Reilly | By Publisher | Books

Oracle & Database Programming | Programming | O'Reilly | By Publisher | Books

Look Inside Computer Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

General | Software Books | Custom Stores | Stores | Software
Similar Items:

Learning SQL (Learning)
SQL Tuning
The Art of SQL (Art of)
SQL Pocket Guide (Pocket References)
Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes, Third Edition

ASIN: 0596009763

Book Description

You know the rudiments of the SQL query language, yet you feel you aren't taking full advantage of SQL's expressive power. You'd like to learn how to do more work with SQL inside the database before pushing data across the network to your applications. You'd like to take your SQL skills to the next level.

Let's face it, SQL is a deceptively simple language to learn, and many database developers never go far beyond the simple statement: SELECT <columns> FROM <table> WHERE <conditions>. But there is so much more you can do with the language. In the SQL Cookbook, experienced SQL developer Anthony Molinaro shares his favorite SQL techniques and features. You'll learn about: <ul>

Window functions, arguably the most significant enhancement to SQL in the past decade. If you're not using these, you're missing out</li>

Powerful, database-specific features such as SQL Server's PIVOT and UNPIVOT operators, Oracle's MODEL clause, and PostgreSQL's very useful GENERATE_SERIES function</li>

Pivoting rows into columns, reverse-pivoting columns into rows, using pivoting to facilitate inter-row calculations, and double-pivoting a result set</li>

Bucketization, and why you should never use that term in Brooklyn.</li>

How to create histograms, summarize data into buckets, perform aggregations over a moving range of values, generate running-totals and subtotals, and other advanced, data warehousing techniques</li>

The technique of walking a string, which allows you to use SQL to parse through the characters, words, or delimited elements of a string</li></ul>

Written in O'Reilly's popular Problem/Solution/Discussion style, the SQL Cookbook is sure to please. Anthony's credo is: "When it comes down to it, we all go to work, we all have bills to pay, and we all want to go home at a reasonable time and enjoy what's still available of our days." The SQL Cookbook moves quickly from problem to solution, saving you time each step of the way.

Customer Reviews:

Mind-expanding.......2007-05-09

It doesn't take long to learn the basics of SQL. Once you start to do multi-table joins and you get to sub-selects and outer joins you can almost convince yourself you are an expert. Trust me. You aren't. I've read at least ten books on using SQL. This is the first one to blow my horizons away and open a completely new landscape.

The "recipies" are well explained and almost entirely practical and useful. This book showed me dozens of things I did not ever think of using SQL for, even though I have the BNF for SQL pretty much in my head after more than 18 years of being a practicing programmer.

Before this book I used to recommend "generic" SQL books to students and newbies because such books apply to virtually all SQL databases and it can be harmful for one to use a specific "dialect" (such as Oracle or SQL Server) that won't port to other SQL databases. I would urge people to learn "generic" SQL. You can always add the features of you specific dialect, but it is hard to give up features you assume will be in all dialects.

This book neatly avoids that problem by providing dialect-specific sections when you can or must code differently for a particular database. Even better, they explain the differences and the pros and cons of those differences. So this book can even be an aid to selecting the "right" database for your application.

I happen to be a fan of Open Source and Free Software and I'm pleased to say that this book covers both MySQL and PostgreSQL. Naturally it provides the "big three" of Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, and IBM's DB2.

This book really opened my eyes to possibilities in SQL that I really didn't know existed in spite of the fact that I have been using the language (apparently without mastering it) for almost two decades.

I still recommend using a "generic SQL" book to learn the basics, but this should literally be ordered at the same time. It is the best of the "Cookbook" series that I have seen. (And I have used the Java Cookbook, Perl Cookbook, and Python Cookbook).

Too long; get the Sams 10 minute series.......2007-04-13

Too long at 600 pages. Sure you'll understand SQL if you go through all 600 pages and understand them well. Heck that's true for any subject, including the Qu'ran. But who'se got the time? Get the Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes, Third Edition - Ben Forta; and in about a day you'll be half way towards mastery. But if you don't value your time, perhaps you're still a student rather than a professional, then by all means read this book.

Everything you need.......2007-01-09

The Cookbook series has always been a reference for users that had at least some knowledge of the subject.
But even if you are just starting out, you can get started right away with writing commands. And since this book covers the major SQL formats, you won't be left out. I bought this book because an application uses Oracle and I was able to do what I needed to do. The great thing about the cookbook series is that you don't have to go through alot of text to get what you want. You find your problem and apply the solution.
Great book!!!

Good tutorial on and selection of recipes solving problems with SQL.......2007-01-09

Ultimately, the goal of this book is to give you a glimpse of what can be done using SQL outside of what is considered the typical SQL problem domain. This text is unique in that the target audience is wide, incorporating all levels of SQL programmers as well as those who are completely unfamiliar with SQL.

Both complex and simple solutions are provided, and solutions for five different vendors are available when a common solution does not exist. These five databases are DB2 v.8, Oracle Database 10g (with the exception of a handful of recipes, the solutions will work for Oracle8i Database and Oracle9i Database as well), PostgreSQL 8, SQL Server 2005 and MySQL 5. All of the examples are built around a small set of tables containing employee data. This helps the reader get familiar with the example data, so that, having become familiar with the data, you can focus on the technique that each recipe illustrates.

Chapter 1, Retrieving Records, introduces very simple queries. Examples include how to use a WHERE clause to restrict rows from your result set, providing aliases for columns in your result set, using an inline view to reference aliased columns, using simple conditional logic, limiting the number of rows returned by a query, returning random records, and finding NULL values. Most of the examples are very simple, but some of them appear in later more complex recipes, so it's a good idea to read this chapter if you're relatively new to SQL or aren't familiar with any of the examples listed for this chapter.

Chapter 2, Sorting Query Results, introduces recipes for sorting query results. The ORDER BY clause is introduced and is used to sort query results. Examples increase in complexity ranging from simple, single-column ordering, to ordering by substrings, to ordering based on conditional expressions.

Chapter 3, Working with Multiple Tables, introduces recipes for combining data from multiple tables. If you are new to SQL or are a bit rusty on joins, this is a good chapter to read before going on to Chapter 5 and later. Joining tables is what SQL is all about; you must understand joins to be successful. Examples in this chapter include performing both inner and outer joins, identifying Cartesian productions, basic set operations (set difference, union, intersection), and the effects of joins on aggregate functions.

Chapter 4, Inserting, Updating, Deleting, introduces recipes for inserting, updating, and deleting data, respectively. Most of the examples are very straightforward, perhaps even pedestrian. Nevertheless, operations such as inserting rows into one table from another table, the use of correlated subqueries in updates, an understanding of the effects of NULLs, and knowledge of new features such as multi-table inserts and the MERGE command are extremely useful for your toolbox.

Chapter 5, Metadata Queries, introduces recipes for getting at your database metadata. It's often very useful to find the indexes, constraints, and tables in your schema. The simple recipes here allow you to gain information about your schema. Additionally, "dynamic" SQL examples are shown here as well, i.e., SQL generated by SQL.

Chapter 6, Working with Strings, introduces recipes for manipulating strings. SQL is not known for its string parsing capabilities, but with a little creativity, usually involving Cartesian products, along with the vast array of vendor-specific functions, you can accomplish quite a bit. Some of the more interesting examples include counting the occurrences of a character in a string, creating delimited lists from table rows, converting delimited lists and strings into rows, and separating numeric and character data from a string of alphanumeric characters.

Chapter 7, Working with Numbers, introduces recipes for common number crunching. You'll learn how easily window functions solve problems involving moving calculations and aggregations. Examples include creating running totals; finding mean, median, and mode; calculating percentiles; and accounting for NULL while performing aggregations.

Chapter 8, Date Arithmetic, is the first of two chapters dealing with dates. Being able to perform simple date arithmetic is crucial to everyday tasks. Examples include determining the number of business days between two dates, calculating the difference between two dates in different units of time (day, month, year, etc.), and counting occurrences of days in a month.

Chapter 9, Date Manipulation, is the second of the two chapters dealing with dates. In this chapter you will find recipes for some of the most common date operations you will encounter in a typical work day. Examples include returning all days in a year, finding leap years, finding first and last days of a month, creating a calendar, and filling in missing dates for a range of dates.

Chapter 10, Working with Ranges, introduces recipes for identifying values in ranges, and for creating ranges of values. Examples include automatically generating a sequence of rows, filling in missing numeric values for a range of values, locating the beginning and end of a range of values, and locating consecutive values.

Chapter 11, Advanced Searching, introduces recipes that are crucial for everyday development and yet sometimes slip through the cracks. These recipes are not any more difficult than others, yet many developers make very inefficient attempts at solving the problems these recipes solve. Examples from this chapter include finding knight values, paginating through a result set, skipping rows from a table, finding reciprocals, selecting the top n records, and ranking results.

Chapter 12, Reporting and Warehousing, introduces queries typically used in warehousing or generating complex reports. Examples include converting rows into columns and vice versa (cross-tab reports), creating buckets or groups of data, creating histograms, calculating simple and complete subtotals, performing aggregations over a moving window of rows, and grouping rows based on given units of time.

Chapter 13, Hierarchical Queries, introduces hierarchical recipes. Regardless of how your data is modeled, at some point you will be asked to format data such that it represents a tree or parent-child relationship. This chapter provides recipes accomplishing these tasks. Creating tree-structured result sets can be cumbersome with traditional SQL, so vendor-supplied functions are particularly useful in this chapter. Examples include expressing a parent-child relationship, traversing a hierarchy from root to leaf, and rolling up a hierarchy.

Chapter 14, Odds 'n' Ends, is a collection of miscellaneous recipes that didn't fit into any other problem domain, but that nevertheless are interesting and useful. This chapter is different from the rest in that it focuses on vendor-specific solutions only. This is the only chapter of the book where each recipe highlights only one vendor. In some cases, though, you'll be able to easily tweak a solution provided in this chapter to work for a platform not covered in the recipe.

Appendix A, Window Function Refresher, is a window function refresher along with a solid discussion of groups in SQL. Window functions are new to most, so it is appropriate that this appendix serves as a brief tutorial. Additionally, the use of GROUP BY in queries is a source of confusion for many developers. This chapter defines exactly what a SQL group is, and then proceeds to use various queries as proofs to validate that definition. The chapter then goes into the effects of NULLs on groups, aggregates, and partitions. Lastly, you'll find discussion on the more obscure and yet extremely powerful syntax of the window function's OVER clause (i.e., the "framing" or "windowing" clause).

Appendix B, Rozenshtein Revisited, is a tribute to David Rozenshtein, author of "The Essence of SQL". Appendix B focuses on some of the queries presented in "The Essence of SQL", and provides alternative solutions using window functions (which weren't available when The Essence of SQL was written) for those queries.

I highly recommend this book for anyone working with or interested in working with SQL. However, you should already be familiar with the theory behind database management or you will have trouble with this book.

Bring something new in my arsenal.......2006-12-24

You can hardly go wrong with a cookbook from O'Reilly; they invented the format and delivered many first class recipe books along the years. SQL Cookbook lives up to the expectations. The author covers five different RDMS, being a freelance consultant I fund this especially valuable, since I sometimes need to switch among different databases. The amount of explanations and recipes leveraging the window functions are, in my opinion, another major plus; window functions are still relatively new for me (I am an application developer, not a DBA), and seeing them in action bring something new in my arsenal.

The Microsoft Data Warehouse Toolkit: With SQL Server 2005 and the Microsoft Business Intelligence Toolset

Average customer rating:

More an academic discussion, than hands-on
Very approachable but authoritative source on DW
Not for Beginners?
Microsoft Data Warehouse Toolkit Text book
Great Book but needs a few things added.

The Microsoft Data Warehouse Toolkit: With SQL Server 2005 and the Microsoft Business Intelligence Toolset
Joy Mundy , Warren Thornthwaite , and Ralph Kimball
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Database Management Systems | Databases | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Databases | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Software | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Computer Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Computers & Internet | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Science | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Qualifying Textbooks - Spring 2007 | Stores | Books

General | Software Books | Custom Stores | Stores | Software
Similar Items:

Delivering Business Intelligence with Microsoft SQL Server 2005
Professional SQL Server 2005 Integration Services (Programmer to Programmer)
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services 2005
The Data Warehouse Toolkit: The Complete Guide to Dimensional Modeling (Second Edition)
Applied Microsoft Analysis Services 2005: And Microsoft Business Intelligence Platform

ASIN: 0471267155

Book Description

This groundbreaking book is the first in the Kimball Toolkit series to be product-specific. Microsoft’s BI toolset has undergone significant changes in the SQL Server 2005 development cycle. SQL Server 2005 is the first viable, full-functioned data warehouse and business intelligence platform to be offered at a price that will make data warehousing and business intelligence available to a broad set of organizations. This book is meant to offer practical techniques to guide those organizations through the myriad of challenges to true success as measured by contribution to business value.

Building a data warehousing and business intelligence system is a complex business and engineering effort. While there are significant technical challenges to overcome in successfully deploying a data warehouse, the authors find that the most common reason for data warehouse project failure is insufficient focus on the business users and business problems. In an effort to help people gain success, this book takes the proven Business Dimensional Lifecycle approach first described in best selling The Data Warehouse Lifecycle Toolkit and applies it to the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 tool set.

Beginning with a thorough description of how to gather business requirements, the book then works through the details of creating the target dimensional model, setting up the data warehouse infrastructure, creating the relational atomic database, creating the analysis services databases, designing and building the standard report set, implementing security, dealing with metadata, managing ongoing maintenance and growing the DW/BI system. All of these steps tie back to the business requirements. Each chapter describes the practical steps in the context of the SQL Server 2005 platform.

Intended Audience

The target audience for this book is the IT department or service provider (consultant) who is: <ul>

Planning a small to mid-range data warehouse project;

Evaluating or planning to use Microsoft technologies as the primary or exclusive data warehouse server technology;

Familiar with the general concepts of data warehousing and business intelligence. </ul>

The book will be directed primarily at the project leader and the warehouse developers, although everyone involved with a data warehouse project will find the book useful. Some of the book’s content will be more technical than the typical project leader will need; other chapters and sections will focus on business issues that are interesting to a database administrator or programmer as guiding information.

The book is focused on the mass market, where the volume of data in a single application or data mart is less than 500 GB of raw data. While the book does discuss issues around handling larger warehouses in the Microsoft environment, it is not exclusively, or even primarily, concerned with the unusual challenges of extremely large datasets.

About the Authors

JOY MUNDY has focused on data warehousing and business intelligence since the early 1990s, specializing in business requirements analysis, dimensional modeling, and business intelligence systems architecture. Joy co-founded InfoDynamics LLC, a data warehouse consulting firm, then joined Microsoft WebTV to develop closed-loop analytic applications and a packaged data warehouse.

Before returning to consulting with the Kimball Group in 2004, Joy worked in Microsoft SQL Server product development, managing a team that developed the best practices for building business intelligence systems on the Microsoft platform. Joy began her career as a business analyst in banking and finance. She graduated from Tufts University with a BA in Economics, and from Stanford with an MS in Engineering Economic Systems.

WARREN THORNTHWAITE has been building data warehousing and business intelligence systems since 1980. Warren worked at Metaphor for eight years, where he managed the consulting organization and implemented many major data warehouse systems. After Metaphor, Warren managed the enterprise-wide data warehouse development at Stanford University. He then co-founded InfoDynamics LLC, a data warehouse consulting firm, with his co-author, Joy Mundy. Warren joined up with WebTV to help build a world class, multi-terabyte customer focused data warehouse before returning to consulting with the Kimball Group. In addition to designing data warehouses for a range of industries, Warren speaks at major industry conferences and for leading vendors, and is a long-time instructor for Kimball University. Warren holds an MBA in Decision Sciences from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, and a BA in Communications Studies from the University of Michigan.

RALPH KIMBALL, PH.D., has been a leading visionary in the data warehouse industry since 1982 and is one of today's most internationally well-known authors, speakers, consultants, and teachers on data warehousing. He writes the "Data Warehouse Architect" column for Intelligent Enterprise (formerly DBMS) magazine.

Customer Reviews:

More an academic discussion, than hands-on.......2007-03-14

I found this a frustrating book. Eventually I skipped this first 43 pages of introduction plus 120 first pages of the book proper. I felt the authors were more interested in using esoteric language than actually showing how to use the product. If you're trying to baffle someone with tech-speak, this is the book for you. If you have a deadline, and are trying to actually accomplish something, I would suggest looking elsewhere. Disappointed.

Very approachable but authoritative source on DW.......2007-02-19

Having inherited a mature DW, I was weak on the Theory behind what I was supporting. I needed to be able to be confident of not breaking the current system, but still be able to take this vital system forward with the business. I am also under the Time pressure that we all work with. This book gave thorough but clear explanations of the concepts that underlie DW/BI solutions and then went on to particularise these explanations with details based on SQL Server. I am still working through it, but it is a pleasure rather than a chore.

Thanks for the great work that you and the editorial team put into this book. JK.

Not for Beginners?.......2007-01-24

Mundy and Thornthwaite provide the knowledgeable SQL Server technician with many of the soft and hard tools required to deliver a successful BI project. And even if most beginners might miss most of the authors' finer points and hard earned wisdom, they'll still be further ahead on a steep learning curve.

Only wish the Kimball team had written the same book for Analysis Server 2000. It'd have saved me much time! ;-)

Microsoft Data Warehouse Toolkit Text book.......2007-01-19

This is a good book.I have used for my master's course work.The service of the the Amazon is good.

Great Book but needs a few things added........2006-10-12

I won't bore you with another rendition of the books praises, enough other people have already written them below. What I will tell you is what is not enough or missing: The word toolkit to me implies that there are tools included (i.e. a cd or dvd) - there is none. Many things are discussed and examples given where a CD with code, sample questionaires, sample project plans ( in standard tool formats such as MS Project) and such would have been welcome. This downgrades the books usefullness for me.

I would also like to see more verbage addressing the various project methods/ frameworks such as RUP (IBM's Rational U. P.) as regards the creation of the project plans and Data Warehouses. For those seeking more of a detailed How-To format will be left wanting more... You'll find this happening in most of the recent Kimball books. So examine your needs in detail, before purchasing the book, there is very little hand holding or quick starts to this book.

Programming Book:

Programming Book

Programming Book