This book is rightly regarded by many as the Bible of Database Management Systems. Not a book that goes into detailed specifics of any particular implementation (although it draws many examples from DB2), this book covers the practical theory that underlies all relational systems as well as DBMS in general. It is written in an easy to read, approachable style, and gives plenty of practical examples.
Covering all aspects, from straight forward issues (such as what is a relational database), to practical procedures (all forms of normalization are covered, and explained). SQL is briefly covered, in just the right amount of detail. The book includes detailed discussions of issues such as recovery, concurrency, security and integrity, and extensions to the original relational model. Current issues are dealt with in detail, such as client/server systems and the Object Oriented model(s). Literally hundreds of references are included for further reading.
If you want a book to refer to when your curiousity gets the better of you, or when a user needs a better understanding of some important database concept, this is it. It strikes the right balance between theory and practice, and should be found on every database administrators book shelf.
I think that once, not too long ago, this used to be the only book on Sybase available. Now it seems to be totally out of print! It covered versions of Sybase SQL server up to 4.8. It covered a number of aspects of Sybase, including APT.
This is a good book covering Sybase systems up to and including System 10. It deals to a good depth the architecture and how most of the functions such as the optimiser work. It explains in a readable style how devices work, and how indexes are stored and manipulated.
This books seems very similar to number 4 to me and so I have not bought it. I have browsed through several times in the book shop, and decided that his other book covers a good deal of this. There are chapters on Visual Basic and Powerbuilder.
This is a big book that does not, in my opinion, cover very much. In fact the disk that is included contains DBATools, and that seems to sum up the first 50% of the book. There is a fair amount of coverage of the general architecture and how to install Sybase. Transact SQL, cursors and stored procedures get a fair covering, as does using C/C++ with DB-Library. (I can find no mention of CT-Library.) Unfortunately quite a lot of the book covers general issues which are not covered in sufficient depth to be useful, and just seem to be there to give the book bulk. Maybe as a developer's guide, his other book would be a better buy. This would probably be most useful to a small company implementing a Sybase database.
This book is good, and is a great help in a crisis. It includes lots of useful ideas and strategies for most (if not all) of the DBA tasks. It covers Sybase SQL Server on all platforms. It does not specifically cover any of the Microsoft versions, and certainly not version 6. It does cover System 10. It is very good at explaining the output from things like the DBCC commands. There is also a good section on what to look for in the errorlog. If you are a DBA and want to buy just one book, I would recommend this one since it covers just about everything you will need to know. This book is filled with little hints, tips and warnings which are very useful. They have certainly saved my bacon on a number of occasions, and have even made me look a real star more than once.
This book is solely about MS SQL Server, covering 4.2 for OS/2 and SQL Server NT. It is not bad, but does seem to regurgitate a lot from the Sybase [sic] manuals. Its coverage is fairly broad dealing with Transact SQL on the one hand through to client configuration on the other. It does cover the aspects of MS Sqlserver that are different from Sybase, (dbcc perfmon for instance) but it does not flag any as such. Probably a good buy if you only have MS Sqlserver and never intend looking at Sybase.
I have used this book as a reference when system manuals where not available. It is much more useful on how thing work and what approach to use rather than syntax.
The breadth of topics pleased me - all the right jargon is mentioned. The introduction mentions CORBA and DCE. Sybase RPC is compared to UNIX RPCs. Middle ware products are discussed. Talks with our sales rep. about the OMNI and NetGateway product where greatly assisted by using the diagrams in the Open Server and Gateways chapter.
Like any text, it is dated (as it is printed). The Netgateway diagram does not show a TCP/IP interface to MVS. However, the information provided is not really diminished. This goes back to the fact that this is a How Things Work and How to Use Things book, not a compilation of details on a single version.
Supposedly the first in a series from Sybase Professional Services, espousing the Sybase Development Framework or SDF (tm). I've seen no more books, and have never heard any more about SDF. This book is a reasonable attempt to guide developers through the process of turning a logical database design into a physical Sybase implementation.
Topics include:
Covers the topics:
A pleased customer on the above book:
This I believe is the Holy Grail of Sybase books that a lot of people have
been looking for - an exaggerated claim perhaps - but a damn fine book.
Just a quick note to let you know of a very good book on Performance Tuning
that isn't mentioned in the Sybase FAQ. I bought it a little while ago and
has quickly become invaluable. It's by two pretty gifted Sybase Engineers in
the SQL Server Performance Team and covers loads of things up to and
including System 11. It deserves to become as big as the bible :)