Mary E. Knowles said
A year ago I was asked by a manager to learn basic T-SQL. Primarily joins. I bought a shelf full of books including some in a series designed for "dumb" folk. I struggled trying to understand the vernacular in all of them and grew frustrated because I wasn't able to find a single book that took me from "square one". Without exception, all other books I saw were written to an audience with previous exposure to SQL. Then I read the introduction to this book and saw myself reflected there. Someone else who started one day not knowing anything beyond the fact that something called SQL was out there. This book provides a simple path to follow, written in terms easy to understand and based on sequential levels of learning. Working through each lab takes you from the basic "select *" statement to robust code, helping you understand the logic as you progress. I have finally found a book for the true novice. A book where I feel, "Okay, I can do this." Instead of, "What?" The only thing better than working through the book is taking the class with the author as your instructor.
F. Poonawala said
I got a copy of this book from a friend. It was the right size (~250 pages) for me to be able to have a hope to read it cover to cover.
When i started going through the lessons and labs, i realized that seemingly hard topics in T-SQL suddenly became trivial. I got more out of these 250 pages, than a few of the 1000 page 'bible' books i bought.
Srikanth Malladi said
Rick has taken a complex and dry topic like SQL programming, and managed to make it interesting and engaging to read.
What I especially like is that he approaches a new topic with engagng analogies and examples that are easy to understand, and then he builds on them bit by bit to drive home the point. I've programmed in SQL before, but I still enjoyed reading some of these examples because they gave me a different perspective on databases.
What I liked most was the bug-catchter game at the end of each chapater. These are a great way to build confidence in the stuff I just learnt. I also love the accompanying audio lessons - they provide a great intro to the topic, and Rick's voice delivery held my attention.
Joel R. Heidal said
Finally a book that describes the difference between data and information. This book is very easy to understand and paced perfectly for the student that only has a couple hours a night to study. It is filled with good real world examples and sample code. Never before have I seen outer joins explained so clearly. BRAVO!! The companion CD's training videos and Chapter Review files (Bug Catcher Game) are an excellent addition. Once a reader is familiar with a chapter, the Points to Ponder at the end of each, make excellent quick references.
Comments