Microsoft Books

This book is like a SQL SERVER 2000 bible for me. It has the most wonderful information in it, clear and easy to understand. I needed to interview for a job and I looked to this book for clarity and knowledge and boy was I enlightened. A must read for a beginner DBA like myself!!!!!

I have been a DBA for a bunch of small sites for many years. Recently I committed to a job w/ a large, online OLTP retailer and needed to fine tune my knowledge of the SQL Server engine.

I was shocked at just how flawed/lacking my knowledge was after reading this book.

Let me first state this sucker isn't for people looking to get by using the Enterprise Manger GUI. This book dissects the inner most workings of the db engine and it's under lying theory. Their is a lot of TSQL. I found myself limited to reading only a small number of pages at a time and then needing a break. The book is that intense and I have a Masters of Science degree as well as MCDBA and MCITP certifications.

Probably my favorite feature of the book is its small size, under 400 pages from tip to tail. I'd suggest this book to anyone wanting an understanding of what they are actually doing in SQL Server when they issue commands from EM. This book should be a requirement for any DBA or DB Designer in my opinion.

This is the best book ever written on performance tuning. Excellent text and very well written too. Thanks a lot.

I have been working with SQL for several years and always felt a bit weak in my understanding of best practices. I have only absorbed a few chapters so far on index structure and execution plans but already I feel like I have fast tracked into the clever peoples class. The layout is excellent and the language unambigous.

I am a SQL Server performance consultant to many large corporations and government agencies. I have read and re-read this book so many times I should know it by heart. Still, I carry it with me on consulting engagements everywhere I go. There is almost always someone at my client's site who wants to improve their performance tuning skills. I show them the book and tell them this is where you start.

I don't know if there will be a version specifically for 2005, but it really doesn't matter much. The central concepts of the book have not changed for SQL Server 2005.

Ken England's writing style is clean and lucid. He can explain complex issues in a remarkably understandable way. His explanation of indexes and strategies of indexing is a great example of readable technical writing. He also has a good understanding of what is important and what is not.

This book is accessible to anyone who has some experience with SQL Server or any relational database. Someone with little experience may not get it all in one pass, but they will be much better prepared for real-world SQL Server performance tuning.

Great book!

However, it arrived very slightly damaged (one corner bent). Not enough damage to bother with a return; but disappointing on a brand new, expensive book.

Amazon does not seem to be paying as much attention to packing/shipping as they once did.

As a dotNet Developer, I am often called upon to write my own database code or maintain existing db code. I am also called upon to diagnose performance problems or set security. Sometimes on lightly staffed projects, I am a defacto DBA.

I have always strived to have a comprehensive understanding of the technologies I use. However, my level of understanding of SQL Server was more limited then my understanding of the other technologies I use.

I purchased this book based on existing Amazon recommendations. In particular, I was interested in the Performance and Security sections, as well as what is new. It did not disappoint. The depth on items like Indexes was exactly what I was looking for. The discussion of new items was enough to get we to a working level.

So it definitely fulfilled my needs and expectations.

However, the book seems aimed at DBAs. Given the number of topics covered in the book, I suspect it could not be comprehensive enough to take an intermediate DBA to the Advanced stage.

But for someone like me, who is often called upon to be an 'acting' DBA it serves as an excellent reference; in addition to providing a tutorial on the topics mentioned above.

Even for a beginner like me. This is a great book as a reference or if you learn by experimenting and need a book to look up things here and there. I'm not an expert with SQL Server but it really seems like this book is a must have if you're dealing with SQL Server setup, management, etc..

I used this almost every day now for the past couple months. I used it as a reference with developing in SQL SEVER 2005. It answers about 80% of my questions. Must books answer a little more then half - so I give this five stars.
If you write a lot of code in SQL, I highly recommended this book.

There are a lot of typos and grammar errors in the book. Like "or" instead of "for", for example.

Great book about learning Word 97 annoyances. Complete coverage of these annoyances is followed by using VBA/Word as a solution to Word 97 annoyances. Very good introduction to VBA/Word. This book belongs on your bookshelf!
My only complaint is that the book should be bigger.

This is a fantastic book, and I would consider it essential to anyone who gets fustrated by Word's tendency to try to help you when you least want any help. Unfortunately the book is now about 3 years old, so some of the information in it no longer applies to Word 2000. You more or less have to determine which portions of the book are out-of-date and skip them. If Woody updates the book, I would buy it immediately.

...Why can't the decisions, rules and controls be mine? Having read this book, I now understand that defaults and standards aren't necessarily the last word. Helpful hints and shortcuts will make life easier for everyone. whether you only ever use word to dash off a letter or you regularly produce complex documants and tables. With a writing style of amiable sarcasm, Woody Leonhard has obviously learned his lessons the hard way. Don't make the same mistake - buy this book!

The chapter on Word macro viruses alone is by far the best treatment of the subject that I've seen anywhere.

This book gives a good explanation on Word 97 and how to use it. Ranging from general windows settings to visual basic for applications (VBA) users from almost any level can find useful advise in this book. Written in an enjoyable style it is an easy read for anyone with interest for word 97. Together with Bill Camarda's 'Using Microsoft Word 97' from QUE for reference/addition you should be able to create some fancy documents.

Bottom line - great how-to book. I am NOT in any way, shape, or form, a computer geek. Technology is not my friend, and nothing about machinery is inuitive to me. I am also a no-nonsence kinda guy. In this particular case, I want to edit, not spend my time READING about how to edit. So this book is GREAT! (Wouldn't know if it's the best 'cause I'm completely dependent on doing what it says to do so I have no way to compare it to other resources.) The layout is straightforward - topics are categorized and independant from each other. Like a cookbook. Simply go to the instructions on how to do a particular thing, and there you go! The book uses paragraph format in the beginning of each topic/chapter to explain the "why's" of the upcoming topic; like a comprehensive overview. (What's the purpose and point of doing "_____".) Then when it comes to the "how-tos", each subtopic/activity converts to bullet-points. (Click A, then do B, then press C.) The book also includes side notes and hints along with illustrations of what you should be seeing on the screen at that particular stage. Wonderful! Efficient!

This book is based on Avid Express Pro as of 2004 and will serve you well as a reference text. It is well-indexed and has useful cross-references in the text.

This book is very helpful for new beginners learning AXP. It is very detailed and to the point. A must have.

figata ci vediamo al solito posto alle 12.00. porta la corazzata
pinuccio

I am a beginner with Avid and was daunted by all the different and options available to me. Monohan's book was just what I needed. I am currently giong through the book from A to Z, which gives me an overview of all the options and work-methods the program has. Even though I allready had set up my workspace, this book gave me some interesting tips. Even though I had allready developed a workflow for my previous projects, I learned some new options by reading this book.

Interestingly, serving as a guide from a to Z is not where Monohan excells. It should be used as an index to all the available options from this program. Want to know how to find those audio-peaklevels? How to get rid of that nested alpha-channel? Or you want to remember that trick in lassoing to trim mode? Use the index or the table of contents and you'll find what you're looking for in no time.

Great value for its price!

I had to cross through several WCF books before finding the right one for me. This book has very easy learning approach - going straight to the technical WCF matter. In a good intro chapter, explaining everything about creating and configuring WCF servers and clients the book defines serialization, hosting, bindings, behaviors and other specific WCF basis. All these meanings are discussed deeper in consecutive chapters.

Not only does the author write well and explain concepts expertly, but from the effort she expended in putting together the instructional materials that readers can download to follow her along for the "hands on" parts of the book, one could tell she understands very well what readers need from a tech book writer!!

I was looking for a good book on WCF and saw that this book received great reviews. I started out with their other book "Programming WCF Services" and thought maybe this one would be better to start out with. I am now returning both of them and will try either the Pro WCF: Practical Microsoft SOA Implementation (Pro) book by APRESS or the Professional WCF Programming: .NET Development with the Windows Communication Foundation (Programmer to Programmer) book.

I personally don't like the way this book is organized. You walk through several examples in the first chapter using terms and technologies that you haven't learned about yet - I found myself jumping around in the book to try to figure out what I just typed into Visual Studio and why I typed it. I like to learn a little bit about the concepts before I start getting into the examples.

I am very happy with this book: it's easy to read, the structure is very intuitive and logical, and everything you need to know is covered. If you're just starting with WCF and you're looking for an excellent resource on the subject, look no further.

I purchased this and Lowy's book on WCF. Of the two, I'd say this is the one that will make WCF real to blue collar developers. More technical books need to be written this way. The author does an outstanding job of describing the pieces and parts of WCF from a functional standpoint before leading the reader through simple step-by-step exercises. These do a solid job of reinforcing the theory. I normally blow off working through sample code in technical works, but with WCF, it really helps to explore some of the nuances to things like serialization, callbacks and security. These are best appreciated by doing hands-on walkthroughs and fortunately, the author has provided very good examples in the companion download.

Lowy's book is good for different reasons, but I feel far more conversant in the WCF area having read and re-read Bustamente's book. Lowy's is a nice companion and it goes deep into stuff that, unless your current project really needs it, you'll brain dump in two weeks. Quote Lowy at swank cocktail parties with the hoi poloi, but use this book when you want to gain a solid understanding of this thing we call WCF.

Bustamente writes clearly and to the point. Git r' done types like me who are interested in exploring the functional without getting lost in the minutiae will appreciate Learning WCF.

This book is not about SOA although the author does touch on some basic premises governing what it does for the enterprise. Unlike Lowy, there weren't any real groaners about how SOA is going to replace OO and end world poverty. OO maybe got 30% penetration among software developers in formal polls. (As an informal measure, go into any MS shop and check out how many OO diagrams are created by devs in their work and you'll see what I mean. Most MS shops won't even spend money on third party modeling tools.) SOA isn't going to do any better and it addresses a different set of problems than does OO. Bustamente gives developers a solid grounding in appreciating what WCF can do while leaving all the fluff about "paradigm shifts" and what-not for others.

I already read many Oracle books from Oracle Press & other publications. They are very good. This book takes different approch of How-to Style content which is very much practical & solves day to day administrative needs. Topics are covered in detail. Most importantly examples given are from grounds up. Excellent! This book is also helpfull for all who know a little bit of Oracle Database & want to know more in depth

We all know, especially here in Brazil, the money that one pays to have a good Oracle trainning. If you already have a little knowledge of Oracle and its jargon and are self estimulated, this book will take you to high level of expertise without a pain . Want to know Oracle ? Start with it.

Among all the Oracle reference books, I found this one to be the most useful and practical book. This book is very well written and has an easy to read format. The detailed step-by-step instructions in Q&A section helped me solve problems quickly. This saved me much time and effort than going through piles of other reference books and trying to pull pieces of information here and there together to get a complete picture. I highly recommend this book to Oracle DBA's in all levels.

As an Oracle Instructor and DBA I've had the opportunity to review numerous Oracle texts for DBA's and have to say I've been quite disappointed with most of them. Mr. Yuhanna's book however is an exception. Out of the many DBA texts I have on my shelf this is the one I goto most frequently. Unlike other texts which spend excessive amounts of time covering uncommonly used features and little to no time covering commonly used features this books covers almost all the basics in a hands on approach. The book is setup in a step by step how-to format. Although it doesn't discuss concepts much that is not its purpose and the best concepts book is the Oracle Documentation anyway. I've have yet to see a good how-to DBA book until I came across this one. As a consultant/instructor I recommend it quite frequently.

The book is very useful for both new and experienced DBAs because it has a lot of practical examples. I especially like its Q&A format with scripts which makes reading very interesting.

I found this book to rehash information found in many other sources. It covers a wide range of topics, but none in sufficient detail. A good overview of the topics; for detailed information look elsewhere.

I have a nice little library of books that would put a small library to shame, but I find myself connected to a few much like the kid with his favorite teddy bear. Well, this book is like that teddy bear. I carry it 2 miles each day to and from work. Any good book is invaluable to a job/certification. This is one of them!

I read the entire book over the last few weeks and found that is was very helpful in giving me a better understanding of networking. I learned a lot about the basics and a ton about the advanced aspects of NT networking. I found out about how to use key NT tools and the book was a great resource.

I don't usually take the time to come back and comment on a book unless it's very bad. In this case the book is way better than I've come to expect from most NT books. There were so many extra topics in the book that I don't think I've seen elsewhere. Important registry setting are listed and explained but not ALL of them (with no explaination) just what is important. I liked the IP Management section and DNS overview. The capacity planning section that somebody else here mentioned was excellent and the tuning and troubleshooting chapter had a great section on problem resolution. It covers a very wide range of topics relating to NT and networking and does it very well.

-Tom

This book, along with Tony Northrup's Windows NT Plumbing, will put you a step above your other NT peers. Both of these books go into the nitty gritty details of how NT REALLY works in the real world and how best to deploy and configure it.

Both are excellent primers on networking and TCP/IP as well as NT specifics. Highly recommended.

Parece que si, pues aunque el libro cubre la mayor parte de los temas relacionados a configuracion de servidores DHCP, WINS y DNS utilizando NT considero que el libro es pobre en ejemplos ilustrativos, graficos de flujo, consejos y trucos.
Honestamente no recomiendo el libro si es que tienes un serio proyecto en mente para crear un nodo internet y deseas desarrollar toda la infraestructura de soporte TCP/IP.
Este es un libro frio, una clase magistral distante de hace unos 50 años atras sobre un tema tan moderno como TCP/IP, que mantiene al lector muy lejos del autor.
Veamoslo de esta forma matematica:
Este libro + Más graficos + Trucos y Consejos = Que buen libro !!
Espero sinceramente que mi revision te ayude a hacer una buena decision. Saludos.
Piyux.

It's clear and simple. Very good and usefull to understand the network computer.

If you're any way involved with the administration or planning of your NT network environment, this is a book you must have! I consider myself pretty good in networking, but still found myself referring back to this book every so often. A must have on any networking library!

I bought this book to use as a reference when I got my first IT job. Areas of TCP/IP I found confusing from the Microsoft course I took were cleared up nicely from reading this book.

I never found the need to buy a second TCP/IP book after reading this. You won't either.

I had studied other resources, including a training course to get my knowledge to a good standard. This book was the first that was really worth the effort. So much so, I am now looking for titles by the same Publisher to complete my MCSE

Comprehensive. A good resource to have in the collection of books.

Andre Van Staden - Senior Developer
Marco Giani - Group IT Back end Developer

This is a great book. I have recommended it to coworkers who also purchased the book and they were equally impressed. This helped me have a much greater understanding of both Access and SQL Server and how they work together.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone using Access with SQL Server. It is easy to understand and has plenty of useful code examples. I use this as a reference on a regular basis.

This answers a lot of programmer level questions about using MS-Access with SQL Server. It describes the limits and penalties when going the various routes. The book is quite clear in its descriptions. It would make a good addition to any Access programmer's collection.

I have been an Access developer since 1.1 (1993). I have bought many a book over the years. Some good, some bad. This book, however, is super! It is designed totally with the Access developer in mind. All of the questions that popped into my head seemed to be answered in practical terms chapter by chapter. The organization is terrific and the flow is second to none. The topics that are worth repeating are repeated while others are left for a one-time only view. The writing is easy to digest, powerful and very explanatory. The pictures are all also very helpful. You can tell the writers paid attention to every line they wrote. But they also inject a human kind of writing style which keeps things interesting throughout.

In addition to a thorough discussion on SQL Server security vs. Access security, data conversion, upsizing, etc., the book covers the differences among MDWs, MDEs, ADPs and ADEs beautifully and it addresses scenarios for when to use stored procedures, server functions, views, etc and with great attention to detail. The chapters ADO vs. DAO and on T-SQL are well written too. Later the book even goes into simplifying building multi-tier apps with Access as front end, VB-based COM+ components in the middle and of course, SQL Server sitting in the back. And just when you think the last chapter will be a letdown as many last chapters are, it wows you with an incredible amount of insight into how to optimize, backup and perform other settings in SQL Server.

If you are a serious Access developer like me, and are timid about moving full force into SQL Server, then this is the book for you! I recommend it highly!

I have a lot of SQL server books. Everything from SQL Server 2000 for Dummies up to SQL Server 2000 Stored Procedure Programming. And many times none of these books had what I needed. Then I would turn to this book. I was using VB.Net, so I figured this book wouldn't apply, but I was wrong. Even if you are not using Access, this book explains SQL Server the right way. Chipman and Baron offer simple but thorough explanations and samples of the things you actually need to know as a developer. They don't spend a lot of time on the things a SQL Server DBA might need to know that a coder would not.

Maybe their approach works so well for me because I came from an Access background, but I am willing to bet anyone coming straight from VB and needing to understand Transact SQL, effective stored procedures, funtions, and triggers would appreciate this book as well.

This book gives you all the goodies about Windows Server 2003, perfect view of what this new version has within, plus a lot more! This book was simple to read and understand, finished it in one weekend, and most of all, it's a great reference unlike some 2,000 Page Bibles...

It is clear, concise, and very well written. I get tired of reading tech books that are hundreds upon hundreds of pages long because they fill them with so much useless information and "fluff". That is not the case with this book. If you just want the plain and simple facts and useful information then this is the book you need.

This is an excellent book for those of us who have extensive experience with previous Windows releases, and need information dealing with just what's new and improved in Windows Server 2003. This book is well-written, well-organized, easy to read, and gives you everything you need, and nothing you don't.

I highly recommend this book to all experienced Windows Server administrators who need just the new info and just the facts, from authors who actually know what they're talking about.

Returned my Mastering Windows Server 2003 (Minasi) book today and bought this one. MUCH better. Short, sweet, and to the point. Now I'm getting a handle on what I should care about in Windows 2003. This is great - I hope they keep up with this series. It's a time saver and I'm betting it will help with my MCSE upgrade exmas too.

Page 78: windows clients DO NOT require a GC server to find a domain controller.
Page 130: stub zones are NOT secondary zones with glue records. They contain read-only SOA, NS and "glue" A records and nothing else.