 | |
 View Larger |
Head First SQL: Your Brain on SQL -- A Learner's Guide By Lynn Beighley ( O'Reilly Media, Inc. )
Release Date: 2007-09-01
Average Customer Rating:
List Price: $44.99
Price: $29.69
Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
|  Add to Cart |
|
|
Product Description
Is your data dragging you down? Are your tables all tangled up? Well we've got the tools to teach you just how to wrangle your databases into submission. Using the latest research in neurobiology, cognitive science, and learning theory to craft a multi-sensory SQL learning experience, Head First SQL has a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works, not a text-heavy approach that puts you to sleep.
Maybe you've written some simple SQL queries to interact with databases. But now you want more, you want to really dig into those databases and work with your data. Head First SQL will show you the fundamentals of SQL and how to really take advantage of it. We'll take you on a journey through the language, from basic INSERT statements and SELECT queries to hardcore database manipulation with indices, joins, and transactions. We all know "Data is Power" - but we'll show you how to have "Power over your Data". Expect to have fun, expect to learn, and expect to be querying, normalizing, and joining your data like a pro by the time you're finished reading!
|
|
 Head First SQL - good stuff ( cnlmoore )
So far I like the format, the humor and the overall flow of the book. Interesting style of presenting the material to keep you reading and learning. The claims are well founded, this certainly isn't a stodgy old text book. Can't comment on content yet, I'm not done with it!
|
 Disappointing for Head First ( gcbiv )
I love Head First books, and I've read many of them. I've gotten to the point where I choose subjects to study based on what's available via Head First books.
I was excited to see Head First SQL come out, but disappointed when I read it. It felt like it had been rushed and needed a lot more editing. It was riddled with errors and the storylines didn't flow like I'm used to with Head First books.
It seemed like it had been just sort of awkwardly jammed into the Head First format. 'BE the compiler' morphed into 'BE the 2NF table with no partial functional dependencies'. The first makes sense - a compiler finds errors in the code. The second doesn't - tables don't resolve errors within themselves. It's a small thing, but the book is full of them. Look at page 388 of the example chapter available above. Why are there two copies of the same diagram? What does the second one add? Maybe there's something I'm missing, but it caused me to waste time looking back and forth between the two trying to figure out the answer. I did that sort of thing a lot in this book. Those activities don't aid learning and finally made me abandon reading around page 400.
I've moved on to Head First JavaScript. I'm about halfway through and find it's a worthwhile addition to the Head First series. Much better than this one.
|
Avoid
This could have been a great book. This book is what happens when marketing people are included in design and production. This book contains a lot of useful information, but to sit through all the to-do-task and poorly crafted examples is take away from the book's quality while adding little.
I hope they do another edition, using useful as opposed to cute as a guidline.
|
Wonderful Books for Mild "ADHD" Folks ( businessmonkey )
Packed with needed knowledge in humorous manner! It is way easier to read than any SQL I have ever encountered... wonderful job done. I will definitely look at the books in the series first before I buy computer books of other technologies from now on.
|
 Average Introduction to SQL ... Subpar for Technical Readers
Before purchasing this book, I read the reviews and was instantly hooked on the concept of a technical book that would use humor, imagery and other off-beat approaches as teaching tools. Unfortunately, after reading the entire book I feel that these techniques were way over utilized. The figures are very busy because the author feels you will remember words if they are attached to an image. In addition there is very little information conveyed on each page. I found myself thinking "why doesn't the author just get to the point already instead of making me flip through 10 pages?" The book probably could have been condensed down to a half or quarter of its size. The "exercises" are also quite uninspired. I didn't learn anything more from them than I would reading an intro to SQL webpage.
Anyone who has a technical background such as engineering or computer science will probably feel the same as I do. However, for those who have weak or moderate computer language skills may find the book a breath of fresh air as compared to dry, boring long-winded textbooks. I would strongly recommend reading through the first chapter if at all possible to determine if the teaching style is a good fit for you. Do a search on the net as the first chapter is freely available. I learned this after I bought the book!
|
|
|
