Product Description
“Database Management Systems” provides comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of the fundamentals of database systems. Coherent explanations and practical examples have made this one of the leading texts in the field. The third edition continues in this tradition, enhancing it with more practical material. The new edition has been reorganized to allow more flexibility in the way the course is taught. Now, instructors can easily choose whether they would like to teach… More >>
This book totally lacks clarity, doesn’t explain anything properly. I had tough time using this book for my graduate school. Like if it wasn’t enough, my prof used the lecture slides made by the book authors, and they were equally miserable. The problem with this book is that, it is too ambiguous in explaining the concepts, lacks concrete practical examples most of the time, leaves you dazed how many ever times you read it. Perhaps no one except the author himself can understand what is being said.
It is by far the worst technical book I’ve ever read. I’d avoid it like plague.
Rating: 1 / 5
In my opinion, it’s one of the best books on the subject, and it is for a reason that this textbook is used in Berkeley’s undergraduate EE/CS database CS186 course. I read reviews below from some of the straight ‘A’ students that the book is too complex and confusing. Others complain it doesn’t cover common DBMS vendor implementations (Oracle, SQL). Again, this is a well-written book that thoroughly covers the theory behind every vendor’s database design, and it’s difficult to see why one would expect it to be an easy reading. If you like serious, unwatered-down textbook style reading that requires some thought on your part then this book is right for you.
Rating: 5 / 5
This book is good for engineers which work with databases. There are explained all aspects of databases. On the other hand, the book is not reccomended for those who are interested in theory of databases. There is no formal propositions or proves of anything in this book.
Rating: 3 / 5
This book explains all relevant aspects of database systems, but in very informal way. It can be used for introduction of different aspects of databases to people that are not interested in theory, but in praxis of databases. There are some new aspects explained, such as data mining, object-oriented databases, ect. But there is no formal propositions nor proves of anything in it. So, from scientific view the book is worthless.
Rating: 3 / 5
If this is the third edition, I’d hate to see the first two. This book is unclear and full of typos. Here’s a characteristic sentence, the first one in the book: “The amount of information available to us is literally exploding, and the value of data as an organizational asset is widely recognized.” I’m sure the editor’s ears are literally burning for letting that howler out.
There are many other books out that are suitable for an intro to databases course. This book is coming up on five years old, and it doesn’t even have an online errata list. Any technical book needs active maintenance, and this book isn’t getting any.
As another example of where this book falls short, take a look at the Perl section of the book. What sense is there in a database book talking about Perl, but lacking an example of how to use Perl’s DBI module?
So to summarize, buy this book if you absolutely must, but make sure you have access to a couple of other good database books like Date’s “Database in Depth” or Lewis-Bernstein-Kifer, otherwise you might flounder with this one.
Rating: 1 / 5