Rating: 
Summary: Full of SQL syntax errors
Review: It is very disappointing that in its third edition this book has so many SQL errors that waste enormous amounts of time. Basically, if you do not have another resource handy you will make no progress with the example queries provided in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: fundamentals of database systems
Review: keep it up
Rating: 
Summary: Not for the novice
Review: Luckily I bought this book at a book fair and it did not cost too much. I am currently doing my graduate course in IT and thought this book would help. Unfortunately it is extremely time consuming to read because of the complicated writing style of the author(s), the text is littered with mathematical equations and complicated wording. It may be fine for the professionals but beginners could find a book that is a lot easier to understand.
Rating: 
Summary: Well written
Review: most of the contents are good. However SQL portion is not so good.
Rating: 
Summary: Theory Theory Theory!!!
Review: My book was very poorly bound. It started to fall apart 2 months after I bought it. I would say the physical book quality is junk. As for the content, if you want to learn about relational algebra, DBMS operations, normalization and such in a theoretical context, then this is the book! It had a lot of good information on SQL statements. Don't be mislead by its description. There is some info on Access and practical database implementation, but not enough to mention. Just depends on what you need to learn.
Rating:
Summary: Intelligent and Complete
Review: Some people claim this book is too difficult for novices to understand, but that's just not true -- I was a complete novice! The book's not for *skimming* and I think that's the problem. The authors don't include extraneous paragraphs or even sentences, which means it's all necessary. Start at the beginning, maybe even take a couple notes and you'll be fine -- you'll be great in fact, there is wealth of knowledge and experience infused in every chapter. It is definitely one of the most intelligently written, clear, and complete Computer Science books I have yet read.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books in Database Concepts
Review: The author has done great justice to the subject of database in the modern settings. I recommend this book as the first serious academic (yet practical) database book to read.It is not a book on a specific tool however. It is mainly a conceptual development book as it claims to be. As a faculty member in Computer Science, I have read many database books at all levels of difficulties. It is one of the best books I have read that I think has provided the clearest possible explanation on the Entity Relationship model.Having said all these positive comments, I would like to suggest to the authors to put more in-depth, concrete, as well as practical examples in the topics on Relational Calculus and Relational Algebra in order to the students true appreciations why efforts on learning such abstracts tools are justified. Much stronger emphasis on Object-Oriented databases would be a very timely addtions to the next edition, which I sincerely look forward to purchasing a copy of, if and when it materializes. I strongly recommend this book for a 3rd year level univeristy level database course for all faculties in computer science and computer information systems as a formal text. It is well worth every penny of your money spent. Lawrence Lee
Vancouver BC, Canada.
Rating:
Summary: Theory is the best practice
Review: There is no such thing as "purely practical" in IT. This book lays foundations, in the good academic tradition, but is also practical, in the sense that gives design advice based on fundamental concepts. I have used this book as the basis for a "Database Systems" module which I taught a few years ago and I found it better for teaching than Date's books. The chapters are better organised. In my opinion, the blend of theory, examples and exercises is perfect. Very good book for undergraduate and graduate students who want to learn about database systems. May not be the best for some professionals with enough experience, but some chapters (e.g. on Extended Entity-Relationship models) are excellent for people at all levels.
Rating:
Summary: Theory is the best practice
Review: There is no such thing as "purely practical" in IT. This book lays foundations, in the good academic tradition, but is also practical, in the sense that gives design advice based on fundamental concepts. I have used this book as the basis for a "Database Systems" module which I taught a few years ago and I found it better for teaching than Date's books. The chapters are better organised. In my opinion, the blend of theory, examples and exercises is perfect. Very good book for undergraduate and graduate students who want to learn about database systems. May not be the best for some professionals with enough experience, but some chapters (e.g. on Extended Entity-Relationship models) are excellent for people at all levels.
Rating:
Summary: Just the right amount of theory
Review: This book has just the right mix of database theory and its practical applications. I've studied other books of the ilk and found that this book has a leg up on them in that it doesn't get too hung up on providing proofs for concepts that are either very intuitive or just not worth going into too detailed a proof for. It also provides a good review of "modern" database techniques like Object Oriented database, deductive databases, etc. The book could use a little more polish in terms of grammatical correctness. Besides, in my opinion, some concepts, as explained in the book, are just plain wrong. There is no way for one to contact the authors for clarification either.
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