Sql

Beginning SQL Server 2005 Express Database Applications with Visual Basic Express and Visual Web Developer Express: From Novice to Professional

Format: Paperback
Author: Rick Dobson
ReleaseDate: 13 December, 2005
Publisher: Apress
Rating:

could be better
His choice of words can really leave you confused sometimes. The main problem I have is with the lack of editting. I keep having to cross out unneeded words and correct his grammar so that the puzzle will be solved if I need to come back and read the same part later.

And like one reviewer said, it's true: the author repeats a LOT of stuff. The book is frankly boring, so getting repeats of boredom is a double whammy.

And one other thing, it's not a project book. It's more like a random collection of summaries of projects he's done, as if you should know what he's talking about. The first real project doesn't begin until page 371. And even then, it's more like a review of notes he took while learning, instead of an explanation designed to elighten new learners.

I'm sure the author is very intelligence and very skilled with SSE, but I would like to see a better book. I'm sure the author is very intelligence and very skilled with SSE, but I would like to see a better book. Hehe, I just imitated his style with that repeat ;).

Still a bit rough, but useful
This book looked like it would be the perfect introduction to both, but it seems to have been rushed to market. I've been a programmer for longer than most programmers have been alive, but I'm new to SQL Server and Visual Basic. It appears that chapters 11 and 12 were once a single chapter, and were split without a lot of subsequent editing in either the book or the sample code on the website. On the second page of Chapter 12, for example, it says "The samples to this point in the chapter. . . ", but there haven't been any samples to this point in the chapter. This is somewhat understandable in a printed book, but as I write this (5/13/2006) the book has been out for almost 5 months, and the sample code on the website still has all the code piled together in a folder called "Sample code for chapters 11 and 12". This makes it harder than it needs to be to find the code the author is referring to when one wants to get some context for the snippets of code in the book.

I don't have a problem with repetition in a book like this, because if you use books like this the way I do, you go straight to the table of contents or the index and then to whatever topic promises to solve the coding problem you're facing. A little repetition makes it more likely that all the information I need will be there in one place. With this book, that was generally the case -- I wasn't flipping back to Chapter 3 to understand a concept the author was discussing in Chapter 10.

The book has been useful to me in understanding SQL Server Express and how it can be used with Visual Basic Express. I wish it had more information about the VBE IDE and the files it generates, but the sample code appears to compile and work, and the explanations are clear and easily understood. There is also no real discussion of regular expressions, which (for me) is one of the new features of VB that made it worth reconsidering. The author dismisses them with the equivalent of "lots of people still don't understand them, so stick with String expressions", which just seems boneheaded to me.

I liked the fact that information about T-SQL and sqlcmd is included alongside the GUI alternatives. With the exception of regex info, most of what I needed to go from knowing nothing to knowing enough to get my work done was in the book and sample code. Considering the short shelf life of books like this one, and the tremendous effort that must go into writing and publishing them, I'm surprised that there are so many of them. While not perfect, I consider this to be one of the better ones.

Review from a beginner's point of view
Rick Dobson did a great job of taking the fear out of SQL with his book Beginning SQL Server 2005 Express. I have just a little experience in access 2000 so the thought of moving to SQL databases was scary. He takes you step by step through the process of working with SQL Server 2005 Express. The lessons are paced for the beginners and the code examples work, that in it self is something new. He starts you at the beginners level and then brings you to some of the advanced topics.

I am only a few chapters into the book and I'm already starting to feel comfortable working with SQL databases. If you are just starting out in databases then this book is a must have.
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