Ignoring typos & grammar, a great introduction to PostgreSQL | Beginning Databases with PostgreSQL |...

I still refer to this book | Beginning Databases with PostgreSQL | Richard Stones, Neil Matthew

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	• Beginning Databases with PostgreSQL Richard Stones, Neil Matthew Wrox Press, 2001 - 650 pages average customer review:based on 11 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

An excellent introduction to the greatest free database

This is a very well-written introduction to relational databases and PostgreSQL in particular. The authors meticulously describe how to install the database on both a Windows and a Linux platform, how to compile the source, how to setup ODBC drivers to enable access to the database through MS Access, and all the various free utilities that exist. They then walk the reader very carefully through a thorough introduction to SQL, database design, normal forms, and the built-in functions of the database. The final section of the book presents a variety of methods for writing front-end applications using either PHP, C, Perl, or Java. As a Java programmer, I found the Java chapter very well-written.

Overall, this is a good beginning book. It will not turn you into an expert on database design, nor does it offer an encyclopedic PostgreSQL reference. But it is a perfect starting point for those who have chosen to explore this great database system.

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Ignoring typos & grammar, a great introduction to PostgreSQL

I've been a PostgreSQL user for over a year, but I wanted to know more about databases in general and PostgreSQL in particular. "Beginning Databases with PostgreSQL" (BDWP) answered the questions I had and introduced me to the power of this open source database. My favorite aspect of the book was its use of "Try It Out" sections, where readers experiment with sample tables provided at the publisher's web site. These hands-on exercises reinforced the lessons of the text. I was able to install, configure, and manipulate a PostgreSQL database on FreeBSD following the authors' guidance. Windows fans can follow the authors' instructions for running PostgreSQL on Cygwin. Few other books give such attention to detail.

The book's major drawback is its sloppy grammar and frequent, repeating typos. The term 'However' appeared in many sentences for no good reason. Commas also popped up in odd locations. Thanks to the publisher's web site errata listing, I was able to correct most of the book's technical mistakes. Still, these other errors were unnerving.

Since I'm not a developer, I didn't pay much attention to chapters 13-17, where the authors describe ways to access a database using C, PHP, Perl, and Java. I was content with the user- and administrator-based material of the first 12 chapters. If you use a PostgreSQL database or need to create one, I recommend BDWP. You won't gain insight into the deeper mysteries of database administration, but the hands-on lessons will provide enough tools to get you started.

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I still refer to this book

I think the index is weak.
This is a good book if you can get your hands on it. I learned how to set up and use PostgreSQL, even though I was new to FreeBSD. I was able to build a very good web app based on PostgreSQL and PHP, because I learned how to write stored procedures, and triggers, and how to write out the database schema in a text file. I'd had no prior experience with using a database server.
3 years after purchase, I still refer to this book. It's especially valuable for the server-side programming section, however, I've refered to it for the forms of the SELECTS, INSERTS, UPDATES, and subqueries. it's a very good book for database beginners. very good! 4.5 because of the weak index.

If I lost this book, I would buy it again.

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This is a Wrox book, which to me means it is probably not very concise or well written, but it has a pretty good amount of information; and the title says "Beginning Databases with PostgreSQL", so my expectation was for something a little bit more useful and germane than a " for Dummies" or "Teach yourself in ". And that is pretty much what I got. The book does not cost a lot, it is pretty easy to read, it covers most of the things good beginning relational database books usually do, and it does it in the context of PostgreSQL.

If I had to choose between this and "Practical PostgreSQL", which is the only comparable book out right now (mid 2002), I would probably choose the latter, but I think it would be better to get both, since they are both presenting similar information pretty well, but slightly differently, so I think reading both would result in a better overall understanding.

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The best database book I have ever read

My most favorites PostgreSQL book and even can be used for the beginner to learn about the database design as well as some of the good SQL statements (I have learnt some of the SQL commands from this book for my PHP and MySql web application). The spoon-feeding style of explanation is very clear and lots of examples will help any beginner up and running in no time! I am waiting for the second edition and hopefully will be loaded with more JSP and servlet examples.

PostgreSQL is rapidly on its way to becoming the most successful open source relational database system. It has had an explosive growth, from its roots in academia, to the Internet, through the efforts of a talented hard-working worldwide development team. The vast array of enterprise businesses migrating to PostgreSQL from proprietary databases are stark evidence for its success to come.

This book is a complete tutorial on PostgreSQL features and functions beginning with the basics and building up to the design and construction of databases and integrating them with programming languages for the Web. Here we'll show you how to make the most of this fully programmable databases' powerful features like aggregate, join, transaction, inheritance, embedding your own C routines and more.

This book covers:

Detailed tutorial in PostgreSQL
Installing from binaries and source code on UNIX and Windows
Working with graphical tools
Various forms of queries, subqueries, aggregate functions and joins
Transactions, locking, stored procedures and triggers
Performance monitoring, tuning and server control
Connecting and executing SQL statements using C (libpq) and Embedded SQL
Developing applications in PHP, Perl and Java

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