TOAD Handbook

Oracle

Oracle SQL by Example, Third Edition

Format: Paperback
Author: Alice Rischert
ReleaseDate: 22 January, 2004
Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR
Rating:

Good coverage of Oracle SQL
However upon further reading one finds that it covers many aspects or ORACLE SQL plus differences between ORACLE and ANSI standard. The content look deceptively simple.
One does need to know some relational database theory before starting to read this book though. It does cover the basic of the relational database theory but not in a depth.
However the ORACLE SQL statements and functions are very well presented and the book does cover details and use cases.

Comprehensive on basics but weak on advanced features
The brief data modeling section is adequate but uses Information Engineering data models and should be updated to use UML. The book improves with each edition. The treatment describing joins fails to adequately explain why you chose one over the other.

There are a few errors here and there, like the default for the DATE format mask, which is 'DD-MON-RR' not 'DD-MON-YY'. Multiple table join coverage of ANSI SQL: 1999 standard is weak but there is currently no better treatment. Hierarchical queries in the Oracle 10gR1 release perform differently than in Oracle 9i and there is no coverage of differences.

A future edition of the book should expand its treatment of recursive, or self-referencing, joins and hierarchical joins. Also, I would recommend she expand the: (a) discussion of inner, outer and full outer joins; (b) discussions and exercises to support multiple table joins; and (c) coverage of analytical SQL for data warehouses. .

This book is Awesome!!
I purchased the 1st edition of this book back in the day and it helped me pass the Oracle 8i OCP SQL exam. This book by Alice Rischert is one of the greatest Oracle SQL books ever written. After reading the 1st edition, I was very much compelled to purchase the 3rd edition. The 3rd edition of the book is much better with all the errors from the previous versions corrected. This is the book they use for the students at Columbia University in New York. After you read this book and do all the exercises and test your thinking projects, you become a master of the subject. If you want to learn Oracle SQL, there is no greater learning tool than this book. Indeed, there is much time, effort, and loads of quality and research put into this book. The format of the book is reading and then hands-on labs which reinforce the topics you just read. After you read this book you should purchase the Oracle PL/SQL by Example third edition. It goes hand-in-hand with this book. AFterward, you'll know enough to go take the Oracle SQL and PL/SQL exam.