Product Description
A unique book-and-video package for learning Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services

If you need a practical, hands-on introduction to Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Integration Services (SSIS), this book and video package from foremost SSIS authority Brian Knight gets you thoroughly up to speed. Each lesson in the book includes three major components: a thorough description of how each SSIS feature or process works; a tutorial that walks you through the process or technique; and a video lesson that demonstrates it.

If you take full advantage of this comprehensive package, you will gain enough experience to tackle your first SSIS project with confidence.

• SQL Server Integration Services 2008 (SSIS) builds on the revolutionary database product suite first introduced by Microsoft in 2005 and is a powerful tool for performing extraction, transformation, and load (ETL) operations essential to data warehousing
• If you're just learning SSIS, the step-by-step tutorials in this book and DVD training package will ready you to tackle your own first project
• Every lesson in the book is supplemented by instructional video on the DVD

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Tame the SSIS beast...
Some books make life easier. Without doubt, Knight's 24-Hour Trainer for SSIS (SQL Server Integration Services) belongs in this category. When faced with the behemoth of SSIS, even the most stalwart developers may feel their knees shake and their intestines jiggle in a dance of anxiety. Fear not, this book vaporizes complexity and reduces SSIS' intimidating tool set down to comprehensible chunks.

Beginners, start here.

Ten sections cover everything from installation to SSIS package deployment. Even better, each of the 49 lessons deals with a single concept or tool. This approach allows mastery of one item before moving to new territory. Simpler actions such as connecting tasks on the control flow with precedence constraints build up to data transformations on the Data Flow tab. Soon things get more complex and tasks such as joining, aggregation, auditing and intriguing fuzzy logic transforms fill the pages. As the pages fly past, and they do fly, a solid understanding of SSIS' fundamentals emerges almost without realization. This book works.

So how does it work? Well, strangely, the book's greatest strength is also its greatest flaw. Each chapter begins with a textual description of the task or tool that often reads like instructions. However, the real step-by-step instructions appear later in the "Try It" section. This hands-on tends to repeat the content presented earlier. Though this seems pointlessly repetitious at first, this structure actually reinforces the content. By chapter 20, the impatient may find themselves skipping right to the "Try It" section. Don't. Read everything, the chapters remain short throughout. Plus, sometimes the "Try It" section contains less information than the lesson's introductory text. Perfectly flawed?

If that wasn't enough, rock solid, almost concrete-esque, reinforcement comes from the book's marketing hook: the DVD. This contains parallel video presentations for every lesson. When the text doesn't illuminate a tool's functionality, or something seems clear as coal stew, give the DVD a spin. Plus, these visual lessons often contain more information than the text. Definitely watch all of these.

Once again, beginners should start here.

This book will teach just about anyone to build simple SSIS packages. To get the most from the book use the 2008 version of SQL Server and download the AdventureWorks 2008 sample database. Look on the internet for instructions on how to install the latter since newer versions appear that may not match the book's queries. Plus, installing the 2008 database (not the LT or DW) takes a few tricks. In the worst case, improvise. Do all this and SSIS will reveal its ominous and almost medieval powers. Brace yourself.

Practical, fast, and useful
I love this book. The chapters are short, concise, and each runs you through a specific SSIS task area. Most of the time you are "doing", not "reading about doing". By the time I was halfway through I was creating SSIS package for various purposes.

If you're looking to quickly learn SSIS, and you already have some general SQL Server experience, this is a great book that will get you up and running very quickly. Highly recommended.

Thumbs up for Microsoft
As a tool SSIS is a complete nonsense: it isa toy tool (*) intended to solve hard real world problems, which are not solvable by toy tools by the very nature of these problems being hard.

For example any serious integration project written using perl (and backed up by c/c++ if necessary) will take at least order of magnitude less effort (and produce better results) over a normal life span of 10+ years expected for such projects.

However, SSIS (and DTS before) does keep people employed both on programming and book writing sides, so way to go, Redmond.

(*) if one cannot use some sort of human readable, diffable and editable flat files as a source - this is a surest sign that you are dealing with a toy tool.

Excellent book to start learning SSIS
This book really focuses on the basic things you in order to use SSIS. It was great to have videos showing exactly how to do the exercises when I got stuck (I wish other books had videos of their exercises). There is more to learn about SSIS than this book covers; but, this is a very good place to start

Video Tutorial quality is bad!
The resolution of the video tutorials is very bad! The screens can not be read unless the author is zooming in to a particular area. Why do so many tutorial videos suffer from this poor quality - very unprofessional. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (14)

Missing CD
I wanted to get a good deal on a text book so I went with used. Big mistake, if you want all the CD's that come with the book, buy new, because the company that sells them does not check for CD's. It was really disappointing since a new book would cost me $5 more. At the end I got my full refund.

I passed, using this book mostly.
FWIW, I passed the test with this book and it's practice exam as my primary, but not exclusive, resources.

PROS:
The book gives a good overview of what's up with 2008 and what's on the test. It divides it all up into neatly digestible sections. It's clearly written.

One of the best things about the book is that it comes with a practice exam on CD. The practice exam has roughly 30 questions for each of the 7 sections:

Implementing Tables and Views
Implementing Programming Objects
Working with Query Fundamentals
Applying Additional Query Techniques
Working with Additional SQL Server Components
Working with XML Data
Gathering Performance Information.

It comes with some source code, so I was able to play around with the concepts in my own instance of SQL Server. Very cool.

CONS:
It's a little longish. Could have been more concise. (Then again, this is a problem I have with almost all the tech books I get these days.) Some of the sample code code have been a little clearer by using simpler examples. The practice exam questions were harder than the ones on the test. (This might be a good thing. If you can pass the practice one you should be able to pass the real one.)

In sum, I wouldn't say it's a perfect book but it really helped me and I doubt I would have made the grade w/o it.

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Training Kit series
The "Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Training Kit" series was highly recommended to me by an Instructor. I agree with the Instructor's recommendation. The Microsoft Training Kit series includes sample exams that also give you the following info. after you've completed the exam: 1) detailed explanations (with additional references) for the correct answers, 2) an assessment of your total score and the areas to concentrate on to improve your score. --- My money was sell spent. --- Lynne

Excellent preparation material
I, as well as others, used this book as my only preparation material for the exam. I have always used the Microsoft Press preparation material for all my exams. In all cases, I have passed the exam with a good margin - this was no exception.
The book material was the typical high-quality content that I've come to expect from Microsoft Press and its authors. The relevant exam topics were covered quite well in most cases. After making two passes through the book, I felt ready for the exam. There were a few chapters that I felt should have been placed in different areas of the book, but only because they would have led into one another better in a different order, as opposed to the frequent forward references they made. I also felt that a little more attention to TRY...CATCH blocks, collations, and RAISERROR would have been nice to see - especially the interaction between TRY...CATCH and RAISERROR.
The practice exams, on the other hand, were a bit more dubious. While I felt the book was an excellent preparation, when I took the practice tests, I felt like the book was insufficient. After my second pass through the book and another attempt at the exams, I had the feeling that the practice tests were a bit unrealistic. Many of the questions covered topics that were not addressed in the book, or gave very detailed and almost obscure questions on topics that were not addressed. Additionally, there were a good number of management questions that didn't seem to fit the scope of the exam. These questions led me to realize that I was prepared for the exam, despite a low score on the practice tests - a realization that was quite accurate. However, the advantage to these questions was a good bit of research that was useful on the exam.
Overall, the preparation material of this book is excellent, though the practice exams are a bit lacking and incorrectly-targeted. I certainly recommend the book for anybody that would like to take the exam - just don't put too much stock in the test exams.

I love it, I hate it
I do have a love/hate relationship with this book. There are nice things on it and others that I really dislike.

The positive side, it is a clear and concise book. Explanations are easy to follow, plenty of graphics and not a lot of "blah blah blah" trying to explain a simple T-SQL statement or query; that's good, I really love those kind of books because don't make me waste my precious time :-) To give you an example, I found very clear its explanation about SQL2005/2008 partitions; the previous SQL2005 cert book, 70-431, put more details and more complex examples on that particular topic, that could confuses you a bit.

The negative side is that this is intended to pass the Microsoft certification, not just a mere T-SQL or developer book. If that was the case, I could give a higher rating. But people who get or buy this book (not me on this case) are investing their money in something will help them to pass the Microsoft test with little or not effort, assuming you read it from cover to cover. I do not feel or I do not think that's the case here or the book allow you to do that. Explanations are short, the book itself is thin, so all obscure and weird options that we do have in T-SQL won't be here, in fact, they are not. And that's misleading, because when you seat for the real test, Microsoft will try to "kill" you with really strange T-SQL options and queries that you barely see in real world.

At this point you maybe wonder why I bought it? well ... I opened it in a popular bookstore and enjoyed the way has been written. I need to improve my programming skills, not my dba skills, and this book satisfies that need. I am currently not pursuing this cert. and because that reason, I believe is or was money well spent.

If you're new or not an experienced T-SQL programmer, do not rely on this book only to pass the Microsoft test, get another resource, like "Microsoft SQL Server 2008 T-SQL Fundamentals" from Itzik Ben-Gan. Itzik's book is pure gold, awesome book. Both provide a better coverage for the 70-433 test. ... Read more

Product Description
Learn to design more effective and sophisticated business reports

While most users of SQL Server Reporting Services are now comfortable designing and building simple reports, business today demands increasingly complex reporting. In this book, top Reporting Services design experts have contributed step-by-step recipes for creating various types of reports.

Written by well-known SQL Server Reporting Services experts, this book gives you the tools to meet your clients' needs

Coverage includes:

• Business Reporting Paradigms
• Basic Report Design Concepts
• Using Report Builder.
• Report Design Essentials
• Tabular and Matrix Reports
• Expressions and Custom Code
• Formatting Report Data
• Columnar and Grouped Reports
• Bi Dashboards and Elements
• Synchronizing Groups, Charts, and Sparklines
• Chart and Gauge Reports
• Creating a Personal Report Card
• Creating a Multi-Series Multi-Y Axis Chart
• Interactive Reporting
• Integrated Reporting Applications
• Offline Reporting Using The Report Viewer Control
• Creating a Calendar Report
• Creating Mailing Labels
• Barcodes
• Excel Worksheet Naming and Page Naming
• External Image Sources
• Language Localization
• Creating a Checkbox List To Show Existing Records
• Using a Checkbox List To Select and Deselect Records
• Using The Map Wizard
• Filtering and Parameterization
• Multiple Criterion Report Filtering
• Using Multi-Value Parameters with a Stored Procedure
• Using Multi-Value Parameters with a Subscription Report
• Creating Custom Sorting Reports
• Filtering User-Specific Report Data
• Custom and Dynamic Data Sources
• Using a Web Service As a Data Source
• Reporting On Sharepoint List Data
• Dynamics Ax Report Wizard
• and More!

The SQL Server Reporting Services Cookbook brings together great report designs that have been field-tested by the experts

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Great book, well organized content
I bought it and read through it, it is truly a special book. The book is co-authored by Paul Turley and Robert Bruckner with contributions from 9 other reporting services experts from around the world.

The book starts with basic concepts and essential techniques in report design with Reporting Services. Then it dives into 63 in-depth topics on advanced reporting design. The recipes are generally organized with several sections:

1. Product versions that the recipe could be applied to
2. What prerequisite skills needed
3. How to design the report in a step by step recipe style
4. Final thoughts on the recipe
5. (When applicable) Credits and related references are listed at the end

This book was available just before SQL Server 2008 R2 went RTM in April. One thing of note is that quite a few recipes in the book use SQL Server 2008 R2 specific technology (such as domain scope, maps, aggregates of aggregates, and read-write report variables).

To sum it up, it is a great reference to those who want to create some non-trivial reports.

Why not giving it a five star? Some of the content was previously published on the web as blog posts etc.

This is my bible for Reporting Services tricks
I'm on the SQL Server development team and find myself having to write reports for product development and project management. While I can stop by Robert's office at anytime, the tips and tricks in his book have made me look like a "Pro". I was always having troubles with things like getting the color palletes right, and Robert's book showed me the way. I recently had to create some mailing labels and there was a chapter for that. Having the sample code available for download from Wrox was a great time saver. I've recommended this book to everyone in the office who has needed to use Reporting Services and I have it on my desk all the time.

Advance your SSRS skills
This book is excellent for someone like myself, looking to grow basic to intermediate Reporting Services skills.There are a lot of resources out there which point at advanced features/functionality of the product, but few approach the material from a practical and real-world example-driven approach like this one.For anyone looking to discover and unleash the capabilities of SSRS, this is the book for you.

This book saved me days!
MS SQL Server Reporting tools do not easily allow you to create "horizontal" reports--where the next item to be reported appears to the right, rather than below. I needed to create such a report. And I couldn't figure out how to do so until I found the example titled "Horizontal Reports" in this book. I literally tried for days to find a solution on my own without success. Did I have to work around some of the directions in the book? Yes. But I note also that there's an on-line forum where concerns and frustrations are being answered. And many of the recipes reference an online entry that inspired the article. I'll be recommending this book to my colleagues, since MS SQL Server Reporting tools are our corporate standard. (Note--I don't know the authors, I'm not related to any of them, and I don't work for any of the companies involved.)

You'll find yourself reaching for this book on a regular basis
This is a review of the latest addition to the long repertoire of Reporting Services books - Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services Recipes (ISBN: 978-0-470-56311-3). When you learn a new technology you suggest you pick up several books covering this product because every author writes from his own experience. Thus, even books covering the same technology are not competing by completing each other. Some books target novice users, others are more advanced; some have a strong practical connotation while others are designed to be used more as a reference.

In my opinion, this book will benefit mainly readers who have worked with Reporting Services and have already some report authoring experience under their belt. If you fit this profile, you probably find yourself occasionally wanting a report sample that addresses a specific requirement, a tip for better implementation, or a trick to get around a given limitation. Continuing this line of thought, another title for this book might have been "Reporting Services Tips and Tricks".

Two author names appear on the book cover - Paul Turley and Robert Bruckner - and both names should be familiar to you. Both authors have been heavily involved with Reporting Services since its inception. Paul is a SQL Server MVP and BI architect for Hitachi Consulting. Robert is a technical lead with the Reporting Services team and when he speaks I take a note. Both authors have helped the community tremendously by answering questions on the Reporting Services discussion list, writing and blogging about Reporting Services, and speaking at industry events. Some of the book material has been contributed by other Hitachi employees and SQL Server experts. The foreword is written by Thierry D'hers - Group Program Manager with the Reporting Services team.

The good thing about this book is that it's not tied to a particular release of Reporting Services. What I particularly liked is that in some cases the authors have provided examples that work with previous editions of Reporting Services, coupled with versions that benefit from the latest features found in 2008 or R2. The book is organized in the following parts:

Introduction (80 pages) - Provides the necessary foundation for report authoring.
Part 1: Columnar and Grouped Reports (50 pages) - This part covers features that every report author should know, including alternative row colors, dynamic groups, conditional column visibility, and resetting page numbers.
Part 2 : BI Dashboards and Elements (30 pages) - This is where you would learn to work with indicators, sparklines, charts, and other elements to author dashboard pages that are becoming increasingly popular. You will also learn interesting tips to integrate your reports with Analysis Services.
Part 3: Chart and Gauge Reports (60 pages) - Think of this part as how to get the most out of the Reporting Services data visualization features. It walks you through the cornucopia of chart types that SSRS 2008 made possible, such as histogram, Peretto, bullet graphs, and gauges. It teaches you how to enhance these charts with custom color palettes and exception highlighting.
Part 4: Interactive Reporting (40 pages) - Reporting Services has supported interactive features since the beginning, such as drillthrough, toggled visibility, links, bookmarks, etc. This part takes the interactive features to the next level by showing you how to implement conditional linking, breadcrumbs, dynamic pivoting and document maps.
Part 5: Integrated Reporting Applications (35 pages) - This part shows you how to build report solutions that go beyond a single report, such as conditional subreports, changing the data behind the report, and embedding reports in .NET applications.
Part 6: Enhanced Report Content (100 pages) - This part covers advanced report authoring techniques, including mailing labels, barcodes, custom aggregation, dynamic page breaks, external images, checkbox list and mapping (a new feature of R2).
Part 7: Filtering and Parameterization (70 pages) - Report parameters is one area that takes a lot of criticism from the community and it's one of the weakest links of Reporting Services. The authors present several workarounds for common requirements and limitations, such as advanced filtering, handing multi-valued parameters, top ranking, and custom sorting.
Part 8: Custom and Dynamic Data Sources (30 pages) - This section shows advanced techniques for data retrieval, such as obtaining data from a web service, SharePoint lists (2008 and R2), and Dynamics AX.
Part 9: Games (15 pages) - Now that you've learned all these cool tricks, it's time to chill out. If Xbox is not cool anymore, Reporting Services is here for you to play and delight your users with games such as hangman, and sea battle. Hallo is coming soon... just kidding.

In a nutshell, pick up this book. You'll find yourself reaching for it on a regular basis.
... Read more

Product 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 advanced querying techniques and how queries are interpreted and processed by the SQL Server execution engine. You’ll get in-depth coverage of the sophisticated uses of T-SQL, including the differences between logical and physical processing, nesting of queries, and much 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 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (33)

Enough said... Incredible book!
The reviewers before me elaborated enough about this amazing book, so I don't have much to add. This book deserves nothing but 5 stars and I don't understand reviewers giving it less than 5... If one codes in SQL (level is not relevant) he must have this book right next to him all the time (forgive my sexism). Some solutions in this book (like aggregations using XPATH) are screamingly elegant and effective. I very much admire the organization of the book: from problem definition to solution, in easy to follow format. This book totally turns you away from google's search bar and makes you praise every penny you spent on it. Great job, Itzik!

Disappointed
Very limited coverage. Nothing about date processing. I have better luck just doing a Google search on whatever it is I'm looking for.

greatness
this is one of the best books i have ever read on SQL server.
highly recommended to the enthusiast.not so much for the beginner/intermediate.
i have read it cover to cover more than once.if you are reading this review(and then you should be buying this book) and are still looking for another great author check out some of the stuff by ken england.i have only read his sql 2000 tuning book, but this book by itzik et al and that one are at the top of my fave's list.and i have heard from reliable friends that england's 2005 version was equally on point.also, didnt think the t-sql programming book was quite upto the level of this one.it was kinda like if you enjoyed this one on querying (especially that monster chapter on tuning - 130pages along with the first chapter on the "order of operations") then you already know 75+% of whats in the t-sql programming book.if that doesnt make sense to you, then buy the t-sql programming book.its got a ton of good stuff in it.

in conclusion, i am waiting to see what itzik (and delaney for that matter - check out sql 2008 internals) releases next for sql 2008.cheers.

Great reference!
If you need great background information about the best way to write queries and stored procedures for SQL server 2005 then this is a great book.Lots of detail on not only how but they why that many books leave out so that you understand why best practices are the way they are.

Fantastic in every way
As a programmer we go through many a book. And many of them read and feel like textbooks. So we skim, read in short bursts, simply would rather avoid the read.
This book is so well written that it can't be put down.And it's packed with REAL WORLD examples.Instead of just defining syntax and using a lame example, this book goes FAR beyond that, and digs deep into real world examples that really shine a light on your work.
I purchased this book almost a year ago, and it's still one of the most referenced books I have.I am constantly pulling it out when I reach a problem in my work, and this book always has great pointers to a solution.
This book will make you a T-SQL junkie, get it.

PS The logic puzzles in the back are great, too! ... Read more

Product Description

• Teaches solution architects, designers, and developers how to use Microsoft's reporting platform to create reporting and business intelligence (BI) solutions
• Updated with new information about holistic BI solutions, comprehensive OLAP/Analysis Services reporting, and complete production deployment scenarios
• Includes programming examples focused on specific, scenario-based solutions
• Explains reporting services architecture and business intelligence, teaches the fundamentals of designing reports through the use of careful planning considerations, and covers advanced report design and filtering techniques

Customer Reviews (5)

Need a pillow?
Even though I got this book, together with its sister books of SSIS and SSAS, from Amazon at a drastically reduced price, the book came with a big disappointment.

Two things that bother me the most are:

1. Lack of solid examples.Whatever the book has also appear to be disorganized.It's not easy to follow.
2. The code downloaded from the wrox website doesn't even work on BIDS 2008...and the download site appears to be "unorganized."

If you are looking for a SSIS book, I strongly recommend other books besides this one...unless you can't find a better book (which I doubt it), then you can buy this one...and don't pay the full price for it.:)

A good book on SSRS...
I know some of the reviewers have been very critical on this book. I assume that they are very advanced Report writers.

I had the 2005 version of this book and found this version of the book to be very helpful. The book covers both administration and programming aspects of SSRS. Honestly speaking, it is very good for reference. I found some chapters have gone too detail in explaining and some chapters are laid out with basic information.I am currently working on a proof of concept project to integrate reporting services with .Net application to render all the reporting type of information via.Net Applications. Chapter 15 gave me a jump start in this along with publishing reports on sharepoint. I am sure SSRS has come a long way to stay in the reporting arena and this book provides very good information for developers in SSRS or who are transitioning to SSRS from other reporting tools.

This book has explained well on installation and configuration of SSRS which provides the report designers and developers, information on the internal architecture of SSRS.

Good for developers
I have the 2005 version of the same book and reviewed it here: http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Server-2005-Reporting-Services/product-reviews/0764584979/ref=cm_cr_dp_synop?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending#R202BG2RSEPRFO.Just copy and paste that link to read it.I bought the 2008 version when we decided to go SSRS 2008 to get a bug fixed on the matrix control overrunning the page width with dynamic columns. Pretty much everything I said in that review for the 2005 book applies to the 2008 book.I don't know why people bash this book.It gives you what you need.Actually, it covers quite a bit.I used one section to help me create my own app to better control report publishing.I can see if all you do is report design and don't have to worry about any kind of maintenance, programming, or administration this book might be a little thin on content.But it still gives you what you need, and if you are a beginning report designer then you shouldn't be looking at any book with "Professional" in the title.Get the "Beginner" one.This is for developers with a fair amount of experience in report design.It certainly isn't 100% of what you'll ever need.You'll find yourself constantly scouring the web for workarounds and code samples.But I also have the Microsoft SSRS 2008 book and that pretty much covers less but it geared more toward walk-throughs.This one definitely has more content.I can't see doing what I do without this book.

Only if you have to have something
The book gives good high level information about the product, but the step-by-step examples are very poor. I guess they had to rush this out because the examples are poorly written, but if you follow a simple example you get different results from what you're supposed to be seeing. Really frustrating.

Good thing Amazon sells at a discount.

Good admin info, not so much on report design
The back end info is very good, but the report design section suffers because it was written before the report designer was done.

Buy it if you want the updated backend info, wait for a second edition if you are more interested in report design/development. ... Read more

Product Description

Winner of the Best Book Bejtlich Read in 2009 award!

Customer Reviews (10)

SQL Injection Primer
Justin has delivered his education and training on SQL Injection and Application Security at conferences all over the world and I encourage all to attend.
This book is two fold: It delivers ways for the professional security consultant to expand the horizon of SQLi and it teaches the methods of prevention for those who defend.There is not a better book written on this subject.His experience incorporated with that of the expertise of peers (a true "who's who" of international application security knowledge) produced material that should be understood by all resources who desire to protect a private or public application infrastructure.

SQL Injection: The definitive guide
This book is the only book you will ever need on SQL injection. It is the best-of-breed book, well written, full of examples and charts. The author is absolutely knowledgeable about the subject and is very adept at explaining the subtleties of this attack. The learning curve is appropriate for any pentester.

This book is an absolute must for any web application penetration tester.

Credit where credit is due
Not sure whether this is the appropriate place to leave this comment (as I'm the technical editor/lead author on this book), but Amazon doesn't seem to have a good way for the author to comment.

This book was a combined effort of 10 folks who put a large amount of effort into the overall project.Unfortunately because of the way Syngress has listed the book (with only my name on the front as the lead author) those folks don't get the credit they deserve. This is the list of guys without whom the book would not have been anywhere near as good:

- Rodrigo Marcos Alvarez
- Dave Hartley
- Joseph Hemler
- Alexander Kornbrust
- Haroon Meer
- Gary O'Leary-Steele
- Alberto Revelli
- Marco Slaviero
- Dafydd Stuttard

Good Enough to be Dangerous
It really surprises me that SQL injection is still such a ubiquitous attack vector given that it is really fairly simple to prevent. I believe that the reason for this is that many software developers just don't understand how these attacks are orchestrated by hackers in the wild, so they often tend to resort simplistic "security through obscurity" solutions such not displaying error messages, restricting the number of rows returned for queries, and so forth. With this in mind, what really makes this book shine is its deep dive into some of the more arcane techniques used in blind SQL injection, second order SQL injection, and blended attacks, such as piggybacking SQL injection onto other attack vectors such as cross site scripting. It goes well beyond the simple injection tactics that are given only cursory coverage in many other security texts and lays it all out there for developers, engineers, and anybody else who wants to really get their hands around how these attacks work, and more importantly, how to prevent them.

I use this book quite often as an authoritative reference for security awareness presentations to application development teams because it provides some of the most comprehensive coverage of the topic that I have seen. That said, if I am critical of anything in this book, it is that the author, in my opinion, finesses a bit on his treatment of prepared statements and stored procedures as mitigation strategies against SQL injection attacks. Both prepared statements (parameterized queries if you prefer) and stored procedures can be highly effective contermeasures to combat SQL injection exploits; however, if these techniques are naively implemented (as they frequently are), they can be readily subverted by a skilled attacker. A bit more detail devoted to the correct use patterns for these countermeasures would be a worthwhile addition.

Nevertheless, I still rate this a five star read because of its depth, overall accuracy, its coverage of automated SQL injection tools, and its excellent coverage of attacks against the most commonly used database products, such as Oracle, MS SQL Server, and MySQL.

VERY VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Are you in need of help with regards to SQL injection? If you are, then this book is for you! Author Justin Clarke, has done an outstanding job of writing a book which aims to give the reader detailed insight into SQL injection, as being one of the most dangerous and well-known, yet misunderstood, security vulnerabilities on the Internet today.

Clarke, begins by looking at the causes of SQL injection. In addition, the author discusses techniques for finding SQL injection issues from the perspective of the user sitting in front of his/her browser and interacting with a Web application. He then covers tips and tricks for finding SQL injection in code, from identifying where the user-controllable input can enter the application, to identifying the types of code constructs that can lead to an SQL injection exposure. Next, the author explores techniques for reading or returning data to the browser, for enumerating the database schema from the database, and for returning information out of band. Then, he looks at basics of SQL injection and blind SQL injection. The author continues by discussing hoe to access the file system to perform useful tasks such as reading data and uploading files. Next, he explores more advanced techniques in which you can use to enhance your SQL injection attacks, and to overcome obstacles that you may encounter. Then, the author covers several large areas of secure coding behavior as it relates to SQL injection. He continues by focusing on platform-level defenses that detect, mitigate, and prevent SQL injection. Finally, he provides a quick reference guide to a number of topics that should be useful for understanding SQL injection.

This most excellent book provides the reader with sufficient depth to gain an understanding of the long-established, but recently growing threat of attacks from SQL injection. Perhaps more importantly, this book includes all of the currently known information about these attacks, and significant insight from the contributing team of SQL injection experts! ... Read more

Product Description
Here’s the utterly practical, pocket-sized reference for IT professionals who need to administer, optimize, and maintain Microsoft SQL Server 2005 in their organization. This unique guide provides essential details for using Microsoft SQL Server 2005 to help protect and manage your company’s data—whether automating tasks; creating indexes and views; performing backups and recovery; replicating transactions; tuning performance; managing server activity; importing and exporting data; or performing other key tasks. Featuring quick-reference tables, lists, and step-by-step instructions, this handy, one-stop guide provides fast, accurate answers on the spot—whether you’re at your desk or in the field! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

A Must have for SQL 05 users
The pocket size and wealth of info is great to have around as a DBA. Great product.

Hardly a pocket book
It clearly defies the title but does provide with very useful information. I am quite impressed. I have read this book as a pro. And is recommended only for pros.
Beginners please read something else first before you jump on this one.

A must have!
This handy pocket consultant is a must have for administrators and developers. It delivers exactly what is promised: a handy guide for daily administration. Out of all my sql server books this is the one I refer to the most.

Excellent resource for DBAs
SQL Server 2005 Administrator's Pocket Consultant is an excellent reference for DBAs and System Administrators planning to implement and maintain SQL Server 2005. While the book is written for Administrators, database developers will benefit from it as well. This one does a great job of laying it out in plain English. The focus is on daily administration tasks, and there's a heaping helping of SQL commands as well. Highly recommended.

Basic things for beginners
This book is clearly targeted for the beginners and it is a good reference for them. Also, if you are an experienced SQL 2000 DBA/developer and want to get basic but neccessary information on SQL 2005 administration, this is an excellent book.

This covers most areas well except:

1)Security, user, and schema administration. This book's coverage is very scanty.
2)Replication: very basic coverage at best and it will not help you understand SQL 2005 replication very much.
3)Data Mirroring: this part is OK, except it doesn't cover it in details as it needs to.
4)Log shipping: Maybe half a page dedicated to it.
5)Clustering: no coverage whatsoever.
6)T-SQL: almost no coverage except for administrative matters ("alter database/table" etc).
7)Performance tuning: almost none.


... Read more

Product Description

• The new edition of the successful previous version is 25 percent revised and packed with more than 200 pages of new material on the 2008 release of SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS)
• Renowned author Brian Knight and his expert coauthors show developers how to master the 2008 release of SSIS, which is both more powerful and more complex than ever
• Case studies and tutorial examples acquired over the three years since the previous edition will contribute to helping illustrate advanced concepts and techniques
• New chapters include coverage of data warehousing using SSIS, new methods for managing the SSIS platform, and improved techniques for ETL operations

Customer Reviews (10)

An End to End reference for SSIS 2008
This book is a complete End to End reference guide for SQL Server 2008 Integration Services. This book starts with a very good basic introduction to the all the tools and tasks available in SSIS. There is very detailed explanation of the basic tasks which are more frequently used such as Script Task, Execute SQL task and Send Email. Good description on the containers which we need for looping through a set of tasks which is more common in any development.

During development, the most common thing we would like to /need to do is making the package dynamic. There is a good chapter to explain how to use expressions effectively to have runtime configurations in the package. Other very good chapters to refer are Scripting in SSIS which explains the scripting capabilities using .NET and C#. The chapter, Accessing Heterogeneous Data, which explains how to access various heterogeneous data sources such as Excel, Flat File, XML, ADO.NET, OLE DB and many with examples.
The later chapters explain more about optimizing SSIS packages, error handling and event handling, Migrating DTS Packages. The chapter which explains accessing external applications is good but needs more examples to highlight the capability of SSIS accessing various external applications.

Too many pages, yes, the book has. But to refer SSIS with good samples and Screenshots (The screenshots are helpful in few instances), I wouldn't mind reading these many pages.

For any new developer, who wants to know from the basics and a complete End to End flow of SSIS before start using SQL Server 2008 Integration for ETL development, this is one good reference book I would recommend.

Not good on the Kindle
The book is a walklthrough of SSIS with some practical examples. T many pages to be my kind of book and a little bit to much a copy of screen instead of advice and best practice.

As I bought this on Kindle I feel this is not a book that you should read on a Kindle only. The good thing with a kindle is that you always have the book on the Kindle or in Kuindle for PC....

but... screen dumps are really difficult to read. There are no links to follow, when you jump to the TOC you will land on Chapter 1 so it is impossible to understand if they speak about Chapter 7 if you should move forward or backward instead you have walkthrough TOC to find where it is and guess where you are positioned right now

A great friend in building SSIS development skill
I have been working with SQL Server Data Transformation Services (DTS) for the past 12 years and now in SSIS for the past 4 years. Normally, my experience during SSIS 2008 development is to get some reference in internet which was a limited one. This book is very informative to an extent that I can say this is by far the best book I have referred in SSIS. It gives a jump start to a DTS developer to the world of SSIS development in SQL Server 2008 using C# or VB.Net and covers widely in all the Control Flow and Data Flow tasks. The authors have provided due attention in providing example code in both the languages for the reader to try where ever necessary. In this book I especially liked the chapters Using Expression and variables, scripting in SSIS, Accessing Heterogeneous Data, Tuning SSIS, WMI integration. Coming to WMI, the book could have covered a little more in this particular chapter but it definitely helps extending the imagination of readers on the power of WMI using SSIS.

I will definitely recommend this book to my peers out there who plan to extend their ETL development skill using SSIS.

Excellent Reference - Not fireside reading
Professional SSIS 2008 by Wrox is an excellent reference and introduction to the spirit of SQL Server Integration Services.It also serves as an introduction to the subject of Data Warehousing, and it highlights the differences between SSIS 2005 and SSIS 2008.

The book is easy to read; I finished a quarter of it in one sitting.The illustrations and diagrams are superb throughout most of the book.

However, there are some chapters needing light grammatical revision and I can remember at least one diagram that was of noticeably low quality.

This book is a hybrid between "pure reference" and a "my first time with x" book.However, the expertise and simple approach to the software available in this book make it more than worth the price.
My proficiency with SSIS has increased greatly from reading this book.I use SSIS for several things: the synchronization of a data warehouse with e-commerce sites, backup management, and more.

huh?
great stuff from Brain.Chapters from him is highly readable and useful.

Who wrote Chapter 13?With the run on sentences, much of the chapter doesn't make sense. ... Read more

Product Description

A fully integrated study system for Oracle Certification exam 1Z0-047

This exclusive Oracle Press guide covers all of the objectives on the newly created Oracle SQL Expert exam in detail, including control privileges, creating indexes and constraints, altering existing schema objects, creating and querying external tables, and using the advanced SQL features to query and manipulate data within the database.

Oracle Database SQL Expert Exam Guide features real-world examples, practice questions, and chapter summaries to help you learn the material. The CD-ROM contains two practice exams and an electronic copy of the book.

Customer Reviews (3)

Covers the material but is verbose
I have used multiple books to prepare for the Oracle SQL Expert exam.
This particular book is unique in that it covers all the topics for the exam (including the following
topics which are hard to find in just one book):
Generating Reports by Grouping Related Data, Managing Objects with Data Dictionary Views, Regular Expression Support, and Hierarchical Retrieval, and a few sections on managing TimeZones, Flashback, and External Tables.

Although this book is comprehensive enough for the examination, I thought the topics were covered more clearly in other books - particularly Oracle SQL by Watsonand Mastering oracle SQL by Mishra. If your primary goal is to pass the exam, this book is ideal. Otherwise, study from a combination of aforementioned books.

Pros:
+Covers all the topics for the SQL Expert certification.
+Accessible to someone new to Oracle.

Cons:
-The author repeats himself 3 to 4 times in each section.
-The syntax and the description are verbose ( the syntax is given with an
example query and about a page describing it which could have easily been
replaced by [ ] | etc...)
-The examples are rudimentary and extremely obvious from the discussion

Book + eBook = Good Deal
Steve O'Hearn does a good job delivering a very encouraging, personal (as well as informative) tone to the material.While containing much the same material as other Oracle Press SQL books, it does not lift or "steal" any of the wording.O'Hearn has opted to write everything from scratch.The book also lacks the typographical errors that have plagued so many Oracle Press books over the years.
This book's objective is to prepare you for the exam.It is not an exhaustive SQL reference (though certainly robust) - nor does it claim to be.In addition to the book itself, you also have access to the ebook and additional exam simulated questions via the CD.The ebook is in Adobe and isn't formatted quite as well as the Kindle version.The ebook is baked into the price at nearly $40.
There really isn't too much I would offer in the area of improvements - except to have even more exam type questions.

Great Studyguide for the Exam, and good overall SQL reverence
The Oracle SQL Certified Expert exam covers several topics that are not covered in books that are geared towards the SQL Fundamentals exam.It is for that reason that I purchased this book to use as a study guide for the Oracle SQL Certified Expert exam.I recently passed the exam and give full credit to the time I spent going through this book and taking the practice tests.

The books assumes a little knowledge of SQL but I think it is a great guide for both beginners, and experts alike.It is well organized and has a great index.You can read it from beginning to end and it makes logical sense, or you can simply use it as a reference to look up the portions you are interested in.Because the book is geared towards passing the exam and not simply to provide more general SQL knowledge, you won't find any examples that you work on, alongside the book, as you read.Some people might find it hard to learn that way, but for me it was great.I didn't need to have a computer in front of me to try out the code to understand what it meant.This also allowed the book to focus on some of the more subtle and conceptual aspects of the SQL language and how Oracle has implemented it.I think that is key to having passed the exam.Because the book teaches the concepts behind the SQL language, instead of just giving syntax examples, it helps you correctly answer questions that might not directly relate to examples given in the book.For example, the book has a great section on the meaning of "NULL" which is used in a lot of "trick" questions.It might not give you all possible examples of where "NULL" can be used in a question, but it does give you a good understanding of what "NULL" means in the SQL context and therefore how to answer questions that could be affected by "NULL" in their code.

My biggest gripe with the book is the fact that it only came with 70 test questions on the CD, and that the CD is Windows only.70 questions is the equivalent to 1 practice exam.You can download an additional 70 questions from the web after registering with the publisher, but even doing that only gives you 2 practice exams worth of material.It doesn't take long to memorize all the correct answers for 140 questions.I would have preferred the book if it came with at least twice as many questions.I also think its kind of ridiculous that the CD itself is not cross platform.Such practice exams could have been developed in a way which would have allowed me to run it under Mac OS X or Linux.Instead I had to run Windows under virtualization just to take the practice exam. ... Read more

Product Description

A step-by-step guide to getting the most of Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services 2008

• Everything you need to create and deliver data-rich reports with SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services as quickly as possible
• Packed with hands-on-examples to learn and improve your skills
• Connect and report from databases, spreadsheets, XML Data, and more
• No experience of SQL Server Reporting Services required

In Detail

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services 2008 is the third generation Microsoft reporting software that is more tightly integrated with SQL Server 2008 than ever before. It provides a complete server-based platform that is designed to support a wide variety of reporting needs, including managed enterprise reporting, special purpose reporting, embedded reporting, and web-based reporting.

Ideal for beginners who need to create reports as quickly as possible, this book will lead you through practical examples to teach you a full range of skills for reporting with SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services. A series of carefully picked exercises help you practice the most important aspects of report creation. By the end of the book, you will have the confidence to take on the most complex of reports, and be producing reports that will make you the envy of your organization.

What you will learn from this book?

• Install SQL Server 2008 and configure the SQL Server Reporting Services
• Learn the various components and tools that enable end-to-end support for all reporting activities
• Use the report viewer control to get started with the essentials of retrieving and displaying data
• Create a Report Model using the Visual Studio 2008 Template
• Learn to modify reports on a report server and create linked files with report manager
• Embed Microsoft Report Viewer Controls in web and Windows applications
• Create interactive reports with charts and gauges using Report Builder
• Create several kinds of reports with Report Builder 2.0
• Create server reports and report models and deploy them
• Get the full details of available programming interfaces and their usage
• Learn to work with Crystal Reports 2008
• Import reports created using MS Access
• Learn how to use the Programming API, convert Report file types, use command-line utilities and more

Approach

With clear instructions and plenty of screenshots, this book provides all the support and guidance you will need as you begin to generate reports with SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services.

Customer Reviews (5)

The best book I have come across on this sbject
I downloaded a chapter using the free downloads link. I found I was following the steps one-by-one and really enjoying the explanations. So I decided to buy the book. I have now had a chance to read the first 6 chapters and can say that this is a "must have" book on the subject. If you are interested in subject of Reporting Services, this is the one book to own!

Learning SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services
Learning SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services is an excellent book for the beginner report writer.I have always worked with 3rd party report writing software and had only briefly looked at the report writer in SQL 2008.If you need a report put together quickly, this book will give you a jump start on making it happen!Like one of the other reviews said, you can literally put some together over a weekend.

I was lucky enough to have previous experience with this author's writing style.I purchased SQL Server Integration Services Using Visual Studio 2005 and both books are great addition to the DBA's bookshelf.

The new Reporting Services book has a little over 500 pages.Each chapter outlines a key concept, breaks it down and provides step-by-step examples on each concept in the chapter.Therefore, you can read the concept, see it (illustrations - at least one on every page!) and then do it (hands on exercises). The book is an easy read, and engages the reader so that you do not fall asleep at the end of chapter one - a must have for the beginner report writer!

I have at least a dozen books on SQL 2005/2008 and have taken all of the Microsoft instructor led courses on SQL.This is by far my favorite author for beginner books.I would love to see him write a book on Analysis Services!!

Good Hands-on Book
If you're someone that likes to follow examples, you'll be pleased with this work. I had a need to develop a report quickly (over the weekend) and I used this book as a guide. It helped me make the decisions I needed to get the report up and running quickly.

Making SSRS Simple and Easy
As a step-by-step guide, the book is expected to be relatively big. Browsing through the chapters will immediately give an impression of a careful presentation on how to use SQL Server or more particularly, SQL Server's reporting services. Of course, the relative background on why should this be the choice for developers is also explained.

The book is pretty straightforward in the sense that it helps the users deal with the application immediately. Although a small background information exists, readers will be able to use the application soon enough. The book has 10 chapters and 4 appendices that will complement the information provided in the chapters.

The challenge for this book is basically on how it will guide the user even those who are not familiar with SQL Servers. As it deals with a particular feature of the application, you can expect a detailed explanation on certain features that may affect the general outcome of the application.

As already indicated, the book aims to be a beginner's guide on this specific feature of the SQL Server 2008. To help the reader use the feature immediately, a step-by-step guide on how to implement the reporting services is immediately provided.

The book presupposes the user to have a clean slate on how to use the reporting services of SQL Server. Detailed information on how to install and explore the basic services offered by this feature is also included. This could be found in chapters 1 through 7 wherein each function of the application is explored and explained.

Also added in these chapters is the integration of the SQL Server 2008 with Visual Studio 2008. Like its 2005 version, Visual Studio 2008 has very impressive features that deal directly with SQL Server 2008.

Good book for tactile/kinesthetic learners
If you are relatively new to SQL Server Reporting Services and you're a Tactile/Kinesthetic learner (one that learns best by doing rather than listening or reading), this may be the book to help you to quickly get up to speed on Reporting Services.

The author teaches by example throughout most of the book, using the Hands-On exercises to deliver much of the book's content. I'd dare say that 70% to 80% of the book is in the form of Hands-On exercises.

The book is replete with screen shots to help those less familiar with Reporting Services follow along. For example, Hands-On Exercise 1.1 guides you through installing SQL Server 2008. The author goes to great lengths to ensure each step of the process is clear and unambiguous, using screen shots and commentary to guide the reader through each step. Exercise 1.1 is 25 pages.

If you are already well steeped in the SSRS, this book may be a bit on the remedial side for your tastes, though I suspect you'll be able to glean some useful tidbits of information about the differences from prior version of the product. ... Read more

Product Description

Master the Next-Generation Business Intelligence Tools in SQL Server 2008 R2

Effectively convey meaningful business insights to users across your enterprise with help from this practical guide. Written by a team of business intelligence experts, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Analytics & Data Visualization shows how to achieve greater information absorption using the latest reporting tools. Learn how to build maps and gauges, integrate OLAP data, and develop dashboards. Security, performance tuning, and cloud computing techniques are also covered in this comprehensive resource.

• Design and deploy chart-based reports using SSRS 2008 R2
• Display geo-spatial map data with location-based indicators
• Visually represent metrics and KPIs on graphs and gauges
• Distribute reports through SharePoint and PerformancePoint
• Create and publish web page parts, dashboards, and mash-ups
• Set up and manage cloud-based services using SQL Azure
• Incorporate data mining and forecasting features with Visio
• Integrate large amounts of data using PowerPoint for Excel
• Derive matrix, table, and chart data from OLAP cubes

Doug Harts is a Services Executive at Microsoft currently helping U.S. Federal agencies implement Microsoft technology roadmaps. He is the author of Microsoft Office 2007 Business Intelligence, and maintains a BI community website at www.OfficeBIcentral.com.

Jim Dugan is a Solutions Architect with the Microsoft Healthcare and Benefits team in Microsoft Federal. He previously served as Technical Director of Microsoft's Technology and Innovation Center in Reston, Virginia.

Tricia Wilcox Almas is a Technical Architect for Business Intelligence Solutions for MicroLink, LLC, a Microsoft Gold Partner. She has been developing solutions and managing IT projects for more than 25 years. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (18)

Overall, well done
Very well written; examples are a bit goofy, perhaps, but the author is undeniably knowledgeable and has much to say both on commonly referenced mistakes - insufficient indexing - and also on less commonly known ones - like overindexing. Overall, the book covers the subject quite well.

If Sun Tzu Wrote SQL...
...he might write a book like "The Art of SQL". There are a lot of SQL books on the market - some of them very good. So why would there need to be a new book written about the subject? You know, when I first picked up this book I thought the very same thing. But then, after reading through it, I'm convinced that we need Stephane Faroult's "The Art of SQL."

This book deals with SQL performance through the lens of Sun Tzu's venerable treatise "The Art of War." For those who do not know it, "The Art of War" is an ancient Chinese military treatise written during the 6th century BC by Sun Tzu. It consists of 13 chapters; each one is devoted to a single aspect of warfare. Many view it as the definitive work on military strategies and tactics. This ancient book is still being read and followed to this day. For such a work to still be viable thousands of years later is a credit to its usefulness and importance.

It is also noteworthy that there have been several attempts by various authors to translate Sun Tzu's tenets into modern day applications such as business philosophy and sales training, but this new book is the first that I know of to translate these concepts into database programming and SQL. The author actually uses the exact same title chapters for The Art of SQL that Sun Tzu used in The Art of War. Amazingly enough, the tactic works.

Consider, for example, the chapter titled "Laying Plans," in which Faroult examines how to design databases for performance. As anyone who ever built database applications knows an improperly designed database can be the biggest impediment to flawless application performance.

The chapter titled "Tactical Dispositions" covers the topic of indexing and in "The Nine Situations" the author examines several calssic SQL patterns and how best to approach them.

This book is not for a novice who wants to learn SQL from scratch. The author assumes the reader is conversant with SQL as he describes how to apply SQL in a practical manner. If you can't code an outer join or don't know what a nested table expression or in-line view is, then this is not the book for you.

Neither is the book a list of SQL scripts that you can pluck out and use. Instead, The Art of SQL skillfully manages to explain how to properly attack the job of coding SQL to effectively and efficiently access your data. The book offers best practices that teach experienced SQL users to focus on strategy rather than specifics.

As the author points out, "You need knowledge, you need skills, and you need talent. Talent cannot be taught, but it can be nurtured. This is what most strategists, from Sun Tzu to modern-day generals, have believed." And now Faroult's book, The Art of SQL, is there to help nurture your talent.

An excellent book to read after you think you know databases
This is a book in a somewhat-similar vein to Effective C++: 55 Specific Ways to Improve Your Programs and Designs (3rd Edition) (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series): it spends most of its time shining light on the dark nooks and crannies of database design and query optimization, and assumes that you've already at least learned that those dark nooks and crannies exist.

It is also written with the database programmer in mind, rather than the database administrator.There are not many books written for us, and I'm really pleased that one of them is a book this excellent.

Excellent
This book is very well written and goes into depth on the practical reasons behind best-practices as well as real-world examples.

This is the book to have if you want to discover better practices for your SQL
This book review was submitted by a Roanoke Valley SQL Server Users Group member as part of the Book Review Program.

Reviewed by Jerry Ellis

The Art of SQL does not fall into the trap of becoming "just another reference" for SQL users. It tackles real world problems with the point of view that you know how to write SQL code, but may need help in the proper tactics to most effectively handle them. What is refreshing is that it does not say here is a piece of code that will do this...it says, that may work, but here is a better way and why.

This is the book to have if you want to discover better practices for your SQL.

Jerry Ellis
... Read more

Product Description
Find tips for creating efficient PL/SQL code

If you know a bit about SQL, this book will make PL/SQL programming painless!

The Oracle has spoken—you need to get up to speed on PL/SQL programming, right? We predict it'll be a breeze with this book! You'll find out about code structures, best practices, and code naming standards, how to use conditions and loops, where to place PL/SQL code in system projects, ways to manipulate data, and more.

Discover how to

• Write efficient, easy-to-maintain code
• Test and debug PL/SQL routines
• Integrate SQL and PL/SQL
• Apply PL/SQL best practices
• Use new features introduced in Oracle 9i and 10g

Customer Reviews (10)

Need to learn SQL quick?
I had an urgent need to learn PL/SQL while I was interviewing for new positions after losing mine when the company I work for shut down. A lot of companies had PL/SQL positions and I had some experience but needed to brush up my skills and this book did great things to strengthen my understanding of PL/SQL without being overly complex and confusing. This is a great book for anyone just getting into PL/SQL or those that want a refresher. Highly recommended.

Great Book For Beginners
This is a great book for beginners. I give it only 4 stars because it does not have examples to practice.

In my opinion you definitely have to know SQL better prior to using this book. For hard-heads like me :) it was helpful to understand the concepts and the programming Syntax in a easier way without losing in several lines of text.

However I used this book along with the free online material and had practicing on Oracle installed in my PC and trying out the examples/scenarios that I created myself.

I am glad I used this book and would recommend any one to start with this for beginners and move on to books with more advanced concepts.

The Ultimate PL/SQL book
Easily one of the best programming books I've ever bought, in my life. I can't tell you how many strange programming assignments I have been able to pull off because of this book. From cursors to clobs and whatnot. Everyone in the office thinks I'm a wizard because of this book. It is also a very good reference book with great examples anyone can pick up easily. I agree, with one of the reviewers, not really really a beginners book, but if you write PL/SQL for about 3 months this should be an indispensable resource.

Absolute junk
This is absolutely, hands-down, the worst computer-related book I've ever had the misfortune to read.It's also the first "For Dummies" book I've read, so it may be the fault of the series rather than the book.

The book is poorly written and poorly edited.There are errors in the code examples and numerous inconsistencies in the text.The book doesn't really say anything except, to paraphrase, "There are many things that you should know, but they're beyond the scope of this book.Check somewhere else."

I bought this book based on the recommendations on this page-- my mistake.I'll never buy a "For Dummies" book again.

Excellent Text For PL/SQL Beginners
Fantastic text for beginners in PL/SQL.Clearly laid out concepts and samples, and hints at naming conventions and other standards to be used.A very solid introduction to the language. ... Read more

Product Description
Combining theory with everyday practicality, this definitive volume is packed with the up-to-date information, new features, and explanations you need to get the very most out of SQL and its latest standard. The book is unique in that every chapter highlights how the new SQL standard applies to the three major databases, Oracle 11g, IBM DB2 9.5, and Microsoft SQL Server 2008. The result is a comprehensive, useful, and real-world reference for all SQL users, from beginners to experienced developers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Adequate for the Money
The book was a great value for the money I paid.The list price, on the back of the jacket, is about four times higher than what I actually paid Amazon.The book arrived about a week after I ordered it via US Mail.The only complaint I have about the quality is the paper.They used a high acid content paper, so my finger tips feel dry and rough after I read it for a while.The copyright is 2008, so it is still OK for a computer book.

I haven't had it long enough to be the perfect judge of it's content.I use it as a reference, so I don't use it every day.It does cover both Oracle 11 and SQL Server 2008 like I need.Kriegel and Trukhnov covered a lot of ground in one book.I expect it will have what I need.

Best SQL EVER
This book is the most amazing SQL book i have ever read. This book compares the syntax for BIG 3 RDMS vendors, which is really helpful. The book is very easy to read and understand. The examples used in the book is also very helpful. Extreamly satisfied.

The required reference manual
.

This is the book I reach for when I need an elegant solution to a SQL problem, and one just doesn't come to mind.

Great Reference material for any and all SQL versions.

Technical but the CD ROM is a great supplement
It took me about 3 weeks to fully comprehend the key points in this book and I have to say that this bible is a whole lot better than the standard Holy Bible. It is more logical and covers a topic that we can actually use for a long time. The CD ROM helped me gain a better better understanding of the key concepts. Only problem is that the author is too technical in his language.

Gives you branches, not even trees, let alone the forest
This book is very poorly written.It has a lot of technical details on three flavors of SQL implementation as well the SQL99 standard, but is totally light on general concepts.It tells you how to do something (but often in a convoluted way), but doesn't say why or for what purpose.There's also a lot of circular references which can drive the reader nuts.I do not like this book at all. ... Read more

Product Description
Understand how to use the new features of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 for data mining by using the tools in Data Mining with Microsoft SQL Server 2008, which will show you how to use the SQL Server Data Mining Toolset with Office 2007 to mine and analyze data. Explore each of the major data mining algorithms, including naive bayes, decision trees, time series, clustering, association rules, and neural networks. Learn more about topics like mining OLAP databases, data mining with SQL Server Integration Services 2008, and using Microsoft data mining to solve business analysis problems. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Data Mining with Microsoft SQL Server 2008
This is an excellent book for beginner to expert.Contains tons of relevant information.Could have been more detailed for the beginner, but authors did as well as possible without having to write a multi-volume version.Mid level to expert users should have no problem understanding the examples and solutions used in the book. I strongly recommend this book.

Data Mining with Microsoft SQL Server 2008
The number of stars may be unfair but for my purposes the book was not sufficiently elementary to get started. I have SQL Server 2008 loaded on my laptop with the Integration Services but I cannot tell from the tutorials that came with SQL Server how to get started building a data base and then using data mining techniques on it. The book mentions databases that can be downloaded but does not tell me where to put them or how to tell SQL Server where they are and connect to them. I'm familiar with the required knowledge about both data bases and statistics but not with SQL Server so this is not the book I needed. It may be very good but not for my purposes. I'll know better when I get going with SQL Server 2008. Peter Jurkat

Get your hands dirty with SQL Server 2008 Data Mining Tools
This is an excellent hands-on book on learning core concepts of data mining with SQL Server 2008. I have used this book as part of our Data Mining certification course at University Of Washington. The examples are very clear and their step-by-step approach really helped me in understanding various mining models and learning DMX query. Highly recommend for aspirant and experienced BI professionals.

A superb book and must have
Jamie MacLennan, ZhaoHui Tang, and Bogdan Crivat have done a superb job on this book and for those of us that had to deal with the 2005 version rest assured dear reader that the 2008 version is a 'work of art'. The writing is clear and concise. The examples are easy to work with, understandable and gone are the complex mathmathics that required genious to interpret. I have bought a copy for myself and two for the office. I have a problem with recommending books for the sake of recommending them. Trust me the 2008 version is worth every cent!!. Thanks Jamie et Al and well done!!!!

Great reference for REAL WORLD application of data mining
This is an excellent book, highly recommended by me and my numerous colleagues in the data mining community - one I support for a living, and not just teach.There is little use for theoretical learning if practical application is not also supported.Data Mining with SQL Server 2008 (as the previous 2005 edition) thoroughly covers not only the theory, but also the full feature-set of Microsoft's extensive data mining tools.Is it possible to buy a book with more detail on theoretical aspects of the subject?Possibly.But if you want to actually use the rich data mining features in the best business intelligence product available in the world both readily and efficiently without wading through stacks of PhD fodder, this book is perfect, and none can surpass it that I know of. ... Read more

Product Description
The vast majority of Oracle SQL books discuss some syntax,provide the barest rudiments of using Oracle SQL, andperhaps include a few simple examples. It might be enough topass a survey course, or give you some buzz words to drop inconversation with real Oracle DBAs. But if you use OracleSQL on a regular basis, you want much more. You want toaccess the full power of SQL to write queries in an Oracleenvironment. You want a solid understanding of what'spossible with Oracle SQL, creative techniques for writingeffective and accurate queries, and the practical, hands-oninformation that leads to true mastery of the language.Simply put, you want useful, expert best practices that canbe put to work immediately, not just non-vendor specificoverview or theory.

Updated to cover the latest version of Oracle, Oracle 10g,this new edition of the highly regarded Mastering Oracle SQLhas a stronger focus on technique and on Oracle'simplementation of SQL than any other book on the market. Itcovers Oracle s vast library of built-in functions, the fullrange of Oracle SQL query-writing features, regularexpression support, new aggregate and analytic functions,subqueries in the SELECT and WITH clauses, multiset unionoperators, enhanced support for hierarchical queries: leafand loop detection, and the CONNECT_BY_ROOT operator, newpartitioning methods (some introduced in Oracle9i Release2), and the native XML datatype, XMLType.

Mastering Oracle SQL, 2nd Edition fills the gap between thesometimes spotty vendor documentation, and other books onSQL that just don't explore the full depth of what ispossible with Oracle-specific SQL. For those who want toharness the untapped (and often overlooked) power of OracleSQL, this essential guide for putting Oracle SQL to workwill prove invaluable. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Great reference, just one big complaint
An important omission in this book is how to join together more than two tables.I'm not a programmer, so it might be obvious to the intended audience of the book, but in two years of using this book as a reference and having read every page of several chapters, I have never been able to find where it explains how to do this.Yes, there's the internet and I've learned how to do these joins since, but I purchased this book to be a trusted and well-edited teacher.

Waste of money..
If you are of the type who would like to look at an oracle query example, run it against a database and watch the results - do yourself a favor. Stay away from this book.

But if you like reading oracle queries like a fiction novel - by all means get this book. The book talks about a parts distributor database the scripts for which Mr. DB Administrator Sanjay Mishra has decided to lock in his closet.

I am fuming with anger at the uselessness of this book. This book has good content which goes down the drain because of the ZERO PRACTICAL test. I am giving it a rating 2 coz the content covers what it intents to cover - basics of SQL. Barring that fact, this book is worth only a rating of .5

A great book with missed opportunities
The book has some great insights but it isn't well organized in some places. I think the authors missed a number of opportunities. Alan's Learning SQL is well organized, and I'd hoped this one would share that vision of simplicity first, organization second, and content third.

The book is unfortunately more content than organization driven. This can make it hard for a beginner but if you've used Oracle for a while it's a great book. While not a 5 because of organization, it IS currently the best SQL book targeted to the Oracle SQL dialect. However, beginners should start with the 2nd Edition of Learning SQL.

Best Chapter: Chapter 14 on Advanced Aggregation :-)
Worst Chapter: Chapter 16 on XML :-(
Missed Opportunity: Chapter 15 on "Best Practices" (not quite)

My suggestions to the authors for the 3rd Edition:

1. There was a tremendous opportunity to pull concepts together in Chapter 15 but you didn't pull it off. I think you went too short on tuning and use cases, and you could have gone a bit longer to make your points clear. Also, you should consider making it the last chapter.
2. Rewrite Chapter 16 with the clarity of Chapter 14 but make it Chapter 15.
3. Rework Chapter 6 because it is a very bumpy read.
4. Overall, smooth out the style, like Alan's Learning SQL.

Great in depth book
I haven't got to go deep into the book yet but what I saw was pretty good content but it's not a beginner book.

Quite good
It's the only Oracle book I seem to need.Great explanations.Includes new Oracle features.One of the best descriptions on inner, outer, left, right joins.Saved my tail a couple of times.It includes just the right amount of information. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (14)

Good for settings standards among programmers new to PL/SQL
I got this book when I started using Oracle.I ended up having to write sample code and set standards for other folks who were also new to Oracle and PL/SQL, and this book allowed me to gain some wisdom quickly and point the rest in the right direction.I also had another Oracle reference book, but for schooling an Oracle novice on best practices, this was great.I ended up implementing a common exception handling package that was inspired by what I read in this book, and it turned out to be greatly needed.

I wish it had been a bit more detailed in places, and if it were up to twice as long that would probably have made it better.The ability to look things up in an index was also strangely limited.

The book isn't perfect, but it was money very well spent.

Keep searching
I expected a lot more from a guru. It can be helpful to give examples of what not to do, but these examples cover 50%.
Furthermore referencing an excuses-application only confuses the reader, this is not something you can relate to.
Giving partial code and referring to code on the web is rather annoying.
Moral of the story: keep searching for better practices!

Just a note
I really enjoyed reading this book. Even if I don't agree with everything, it's an extremely usefull book to read.

Nice story-telling style to explain the do's and don'ts
A few years ago I bought the first edition of this book. It had a meaningful classification of the suggested best practices and each of them was presented in a consistent way e.g. Title, Example, Benefits, and Challenges.

As the technology evolved (and the links mentioned were not there anymore), I bought this second edition expecting an update in the available tools to support the best practices and probably one or two chapters related to the new Oracle PL/SQL features. Those things were definitely there but I was surprised to find a totally rewritten book. Steven Feuerstein opted for a story-telling style instead of the formal approach followed in the first edition. By describing a project inside an imaginary company with its imaginary employees (each of them with a different character and a different way of working), it is definitely easier (and funnier) to read.

Good programming practices are common to all languages so I didn't expect any big surprises (naming conventions, layout, keeping procedures short, avoid repeating code, etc). What I found extremely valuable was the chapter about exception handling, the advice about how to implement a test-driven approach for the PL/SQL code, the reference to software tools (free and commercial) that can be used in the development process, and the online resources (PL/SQL code, articles).

My only criticism would be the Quick Reference provided in the book. After having read the book, it was not so easy for me to find again a particular section or example. I had to re-read a few pages in order to find what I was looking for (contrary to the first edition where this was very easy done).

I would recommend this book to any beginner or intermediate PL/SQL developer, although I am sure that even experienced ones will learn valuable things.

A set of 'best practices' for developing applications
Steven Feuerstein's ORACLE PL/SQL BEST PRACTICES, 2ND EDITION provides the author's years of programming, teaching and writing experiences in a set of 'best practices' for developing applications. The latest release of Oracle is covered in chapters which cover nine categories in chapters which are quick and easy to consult, arranged in a problem/solution format to reflect real-world programming examples and challenges.
... Read more

Product Description

• After a quick primer on database design basics and the SQL query language (for those programmers who may be building their first database application), this book provides an overview of SQL Server itself, which has been dramatically redesigned with the 2005 release
• Once readers have grasped the fundamentals of database design and SQL concepts, they will then learn how to implement those concepts with Microsoft SQL Server 2005
• Addresses creating and changing tables, managing keys, database normalization, writing scripts, working with stored procedures, programming with XML, and using SQL Server reporting and data transformation services
• The companion Web site provides all of the code found in the book

Customer Reviews (25)

Excellent book
This is a very good book for learning TSQL and introduces the Database objects and their related programming in an excellent way. Would recommend this book to anyone trying to learn TSQL.

It's OK
I found this book too slow and not covering enough information. Then again, I realize the spped of relaying the information via a book is a bit of a personal thing. I also would have loved to have a lot more examples. I prefer a much more hands on method.

Beginning SQL Server 2005 Programming (Programmer to Programmer)
This SQL Server book is very detail oriented. He explains clearly and straight to the point. The exercises are short on each subject. This book is meant for a beginner at SQL but some experience in programming. Great job! I will be purchasing from Amazon in the near future.

Frustration For Beginners
this book is very disappointing, It assumes the reader has knowledge of
installing SQL and migrating required Data base to be used in the book.
If you Can not get the required DATA Base in SQL then GOOD LUCK.

If you are looking to learn on your own Look Else Where.

Yes, I do have Some Programing knowledge.

Good Book For Beginners.
An Excellent Beginners book. I bought it for my friend to start on SQL SERVER 2005. I will definitely recommend it to any beginner. 5 Stars. ... Read more

Product Description
Information, explanations, and advice you need to master Transact-SQL and develop the best possible Transact-SQL code.Covers Microsoft Transact-SQL.Softcover.CD-ROM included. DLC: SQL (Computer program language) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (241)

good sql book
i liked this book for its simple way of explaining t-sql. and there are many examples too. but i wish they could come up with 2005 and 2008 version too.

Not for me...
First many of us, entry level folks that is, fell for the name. The name did have a hint in it, that this book isn't for the lay, yet the majority of us chose to ignore the word "Guru" and went for the word "Guide". This book is as much of a guide as Einstein would have been to a freshman physics student trying to learn relativity (I am not implying the author is anywhere near as bright as Mr. E=mc2). I want to make it clear that this book is not for a beginner or for an intermediate user, or anyone wanting to learn SQL for SQL Server from a book.Of course we are dazzled by the book's Amazon rating, but that excuse is rather lame. The truth is we thought if there is so much smoke there surely is a fire. We should have known better. Still if after reading all the rave reviews you insist you believe it is a guide, then go ahead and buy it. Don't tell me I didn't warn you. In some way this book covers the entire gamut of T-SQL and could work as a reference book, one reason why you shouldn't trash it straightaway.

Is this book the best thing after sliced bread as the author and the reviewers want us to believe? No, it regrettably is not. Can the majority be wrong? Yes they can, look at our elected leaders. This is an esoteric treatise by the guru for the guru. All the accolades and hype are from people who are advanced SQL users. I feel most people, who bought this book and didn't understand it, were hesitant to post their reviews intimidated by the favorable vote. I mean who wants to look stupid, if everyone is right then why be wrong? Hence the statistical skew in favor. Also when the book was published and a few years hence, there were very few good books to compete, that being the other reason.

The book is out of date, which is not a critique of the book but rather the people who are buying a 2000 edition book many years later expecting it to be in sync with the later database, tools, and operating system versions.

Every chapter is chock-full of tips and tricks sometimes too abrupt and too advanced in the context of explanations. Advanced because some of the SQL code is complex and he doesn't bother explaining it. If the author mentioned this was an aggregate of tips and tricks for DBAs and Developers in the name, many of us would have stayed away.Even for experts the way the tips and tricks are welded in random locations, there isn't any good way to pull them out without reading the whole book. The content puts emphasis on some items, while none on others equally if not more important. For example JOINS are given about 5 pages of elementary treatment with one or two examples for each join, out of 550 pages. This pattern continues and a sections often have one or two examples, without proper explanations, sometimes (aggravatingly) with a complex out of place tip which doesn't expound the topic at hand at all. Worse of all, the author digresses from the explanation to the tip and then loses his way.

The proud preface talks about how the author has avoided all the fluff and bloat that other authors had used, where the truth is he has replaced those with his own. Instead of screenshots he has filled the screen with code, result outputs, and insert inputs, sometimes spanning several pages. While he starts with promises which would entice any reader, he ends up failing them.

From the books I own and can recommend, especially entry level, you should read Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes (3rd Edition) by Ben Forta. For entry level SQL for SQL Serverread Murach's SQL for SQL Server, 2002 Edition by Bryan Syverson. Be warned the latter is outdated and not that helpful but at least it's a starting point for some of us struggling to get a foothold.

The Guru's Guide to Transact-SQL
If you want to learn to write Transact-SQL correctly, this is the book.It's clear and concise with great examples.

The Gold Standard on T-SQL
This is THE book to get for T-SQL. Sure, it's more pertinent to pre-SQL Server 2005 versions of T-SQL, but the book is still extremely useful today.

Goes beyond a typical exam prep book
The Guru's Guide to Transact-SQL not only helped me pass the SQL Server 7 exams and get certified, but gave me practical working knowledge of this database language.It went beyond the exam prep books to which I had become accustomed.It is one of the few books on the subject that I'd recommend without hesitation. ... Read more

Product Description

Topics covered: Structured Query Language (SQL), as implemented in Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, and PostgreSQL, as well as in ANSI standard SQL (SQL92 and SQL99). After an introduction to data types and relational database fundamentals (the latter is not emphasized), the authors document SQL statements and functions, one by one and alphabetically. They take care to point out differences among the four implementations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (45)

Disappointing
I purchased this book because I work with several different database platforms, and I wanted a thorough reference that covered the syntax differences between platforms.That seems to be exactly what this book intends to be.Unfortunately, while it does do a good job with what it covers, there are topics that are not covered, with no indication that anything is missing.For example, common table expressions (WITH clauses in SELECT statements), which are included in the SQL-99 standard and have been supported by DB2 for quite a while, are not even mentioned.I have the second edition, and perhaps common table expressions have been added in the third edition (since SQL Server, Oracle, and PostgreSQL now support them, too), but that edition is not useful for me because DB2 coverage has been inexplicably removed.So, while this is still a useful book, it's not up to the usual high standards of O'Reilly's Nutshell series.

Good, for the right reader
That reader wants to use every bell and whistle available, to the the absolute max that the query language has to offer. That reader, however, is dismally aware that different SQL implementations offer different visions of what "the max" is. In order to meet that reader's needs, this book gives the finest level of detail in describing and comparing four commonly used systems. It shows how they differ from each other and from the vendor-neutral standard they hold as a common base. Whether your goal is to embrace or avoid the unique features of each, this presents the experienced SQL-er with their full feature set.

But, if you're trying to learn SQL (or, like me, re-learn it after many years away), this might not meet your needs. It presumes complete mastery of the basics, rather than spelling them out and showing how they work. Decide what you want from an SQL book. This meets some needs extraordinarily well, but really doesn't address others - including mine.

-- wiredweird

Helpful SQL guide regardless of DB vendor
I have a soft spot in my heart for O'Reilly Media. I was first introduced to O'Reilly, aka "the animal books" many years ago in college. I believe my first O'Reilly book was Unix in a Nutshell, Fourth Edition. It still occupies a space on my bookshelf. Next to it is Learning the Korn Shell (2nd Edition). Later, O'Reilly moved beyond it's traditional Unix and C into Oracle books. I really appreciated Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide (Definitive Guides), when using SQL*Plus as a reporting tool (way back in 1995). Recently, I received a review copy of SQL in a Nutshell, Third Edition.

This is a reference books, meaning that you typically flip to the part you need at the moment as opposed to reading from cover to cover. And the book is "SQL in a Nutshell", not "mySQL in a Nutshell", "Oracle in a Nutshell", etc. So the book covers ANSI SQL2003 syntax (also known as SQL3), MySQL version 5.1, Oracle Database 11g, PostgreSQL version 8.2.1 and Microsoft SQL Server 2008. One of the changes since the second edition is a "reduced footprint", which means that Sybase Adaptive Server and IBM DB2 UDB have been dumped from the discussion. I'm not surprised about Sybase. But I was a bit puzzled why IBM DB2 was omitted, although I'm sure O'Reilly knows who their audience is.

The book is organized by topic according to the SQL3 standard as opposed to each database vendor having their own slightly redundant section. Although some might consider the first couple of chapters fluff or filler, I found them interesting, especially since my education was electrical engineering rather than computer science. Chapter one is entitled SQL History and Implementations and covers some academic database terminology, including Codd's Twelve Principles of Relational Databases. Chapter two is entitled Foundational Concepts and reviews SQL2003 basics and sets the stage for Chapter three, which is the raison d'etre for the book: the SQL Statement Command Reference.

The book concludes with Chapter four, SQL Functions. I am frequently burned by moving amongst different database platforms. Because the book is organized by function rather than vendor, it's a helpful presentation to understand which functions are common across platforms (although most have options and variations). Chapter four also includes, by vendor, all of the nonstandard functions. I began working with Oracle 7 in 1993 and assumed that everything I was learning was "standard SQL" - until I was on a SQL Server 6.5 project and wondered what happened to Oracle favorites like DECODE and NVL. Fortunately, most databases (including Oracle) now include a more unified CASE statement to use instead of DECODE. And COALESCE is a more flexible version of NVL, although I was surprised to see it is not part of the SQL standard, despite support from multiple vendors.

This book is a handy reference and much easier to carry than a stack of books for each database vendor.

Excellent reference for the database user
I'm not a DBA, and I don't pretend to be one.I'm a C++ programmer and the only time I care about SQL is when I'm trying to coerce some database to give up the information I need.As I don't develop on an internet connected machine, I'm constantly running to the Google Gods to answer my SQL questions.But no more!This book keeps me in front of my dev machine where I belong.It has just the right level of detail.I find it very akin to a man page level of detail, which is perfect for my needs.It also presents SQL statements for various implementations; the MySQL and Postgres inclusion is key!Overall, it makes an excellent reference.I don't think you'd be able to learn the language or discover advanced techniques from it though.

Found something missing, what is missing that I don't know about?
I'm studying SQL intensively for work and needed an up-to-date reference, so bought this book, relying on the O'Reilly reputation for good books.

As soon as I got it I looked up something I had just used at work for the first time: The WITH clause. (Or statement, I don't know.)

It wasn't in the alphabetical list of "commands", and didn't show up in the index.The word "WITH" does show up in the lists of reserved words in the Appendix.

Is it just my bad luck that the very first thing I looked up - no kidding! the first thing! - was missing from this book?This book is large enough to be encyclopedic, and is organized like an encyclopedia, yet - if this thing that I know about is missing, what is missing that I don't know about but would have wanted to learn from this book? ... Read more