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DB2 UDB V8.1 Certification Exams 701 and 706 Study Guide

Format: Paperback
Author: Roger E. Sanders
ReleaseDate: 12 December, 2003
Publisher: IBM Press
Rating:

NOT a good book


Was it necessary or to thicken the book?

It's a certification book - please focus on the certification objectives ONLY. I am pretty sure even exam 706 (of which I did not review the objectives) will not ask for ALL the parameters for the dbm? It's unweidy to paste a total of 12 pages on the dbm cfg parameters.

You must do the problems
While MySQL and Postgres are increasingly try to break up this cosy duopoly, they are still small players. In the world of large commercial databases, there are really only two choices: IBM's dB2 and Oracle. So as a professional DBA, or an aspiring one, dB2 is a good choice. Given this, IBM provides several levels of certification. Sanders here supplies the official study guide for the 701 and 706 exams.

Thumbing through this book, you see lots of SQL commands. But a lot of the SQL appears to be syntax specific to managing dB2. A dB2 programmer/user can largely deal with generic SQL. But for you, that's not enough. The value of this book is heavily in the specifics of dB2 and how to optimise its performance.

The questions and answers in each chapter are at least as important as the text. If you are at all serious, you MUST tackle these. Otherwise, you've just discarded half the value of the book. Of course, the actual questions in the exams will differ. But by being able to do the book's problems, it forces you to clarify your understanding.

My own SQL background is mostly with MySQL. So most of this book is new to me. I tried a couple of chapters and their problem sets. Not bad. The problems are not trivial. But the volume of material in each chapter is succinct enough to be doable in a few hours.

Excellent Certification Exam Study Guide
I certainly wish I had this reference when I was studying for the certification exams. If you are serious in moving through the DB2 certifications, you will find the book to be a helpful addition to your library.

The book opens with a detailed roadmap on DB2 certification that explains the various tracks. It also has a good explanation of how to register for tests and how the tests work. Understanding how the tests work can save you valuable time on test day.

The book is arranged around the test sections, which seems like a good way to study for the tests. A certification study guide could easily be dry, but Roger's good use of white space, pictures and diagrams help keep the book easy to read. The questions in the book seem so close to the real thing, that you may think you are taking the exam.