Database Processing: Fundamentals, Design, and Implementation, Ninth Edition

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Intro into World of Databases
Review: David Kroenke's newest edition of his work, Database Processing: Fundamentals, Design, and Implementation (9th Edition), is an excellent book that serves well as an introductory text on Databases. What makes this text even more valuable is that it takes you beyond the basics as you work your way through it. The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) uses this text for two different database courses. Here is an overview of the sections in the book (each section contains multiple chapters):

Part I - Entity-Relationship Data Modeling
Part II - Database Design
Part III - Structured Query Language (SQL)
Part IV - Part Four (multi-user databases, Oracle 9i, and SQL Server 2000)
Part V - Database Access Standards (ODBC, OLE DB, ADO, ASP, XML, ADO.NET, JDBC, Java Server Pages, MySQL)
Part VI - Object-Oriented Database Processing

As you can see, Kroenke covers the necessary foundations of multiple DBMS systems, and goes into good detail on different schema regarding E-R data modeling. Additionally, screenshots are abundant in this text from numerous applications and DBMSs (including Access), and Kroenke does a great job at giving examples and discussing topics in a reader-friendly manner.

Rating:
Summary: Well done text that avoids a lot of the mathematics
Review: Here, with a few hours reading, you can get the essence of database industry. A very well done text that avoids a lot of the mathematics in the field (like Date's and Ullman).

Rating:
Summary: I hate this book
Review: I am a student and I spent $120 for this book because it was required for my class. I am now having to find other books because this one is so difficult to use. Yes, almost every page has a pretty color graphic, but I would definitely have preferred more black+white images and clearer, less obtuse explanations. I will not keep this book in my library - as soon as class is over, I will be getting rid of this book.

Rating:
Summary: We use it in a cram course last year
Review: I found some of the reviews interesting and would like to put a few comment of my own-
We used David Kroenke "Database Processing: Fundamentals, Design, and Implementation" in a cram course for preparation of graduate placement test here in Chulalongkorn University last year, and everyone was happy with it, especially it offers very clear concept of database and database design, internet. I don't know why some of the "Amrican" reviewers give it a very low rating. May be for those reviewers who found the text difficult are not well prepared in the technology yet, in this case may be they can try some 24 days or dummy types of book...

Rating:
Summary: We use it in a cram course last year
Review: I found some of the reviews interesting and would like to put a few comment of my own-
We used David Kroenke "Database Processing: Fundamentals, Design, and Implementation" in a cram course for preparation of graduate placement test here in Chulalongkorn University last year, and everyone was happy with it, especially it offers very clear concept of database and database design, internet. I don't know why some of the "Amrican" reviewers give it a very low rating. May be for those reviewers who found the text difficult are not well prepared in the technology yet, in this case may be they can try some 24 days or dummy types of book...

Rating:
Summary: Avoid this rambling mess at all costs!
Review: I had previously reviewed this HORRENDOUS "book" but Amazon appears to have removed all reviews. So. . . here it is again. (Maybe they're stuck with too many in their inventory - let's hope so - NO ONE should buy this rambling mess.) The only good thing about Amazon's apparent removal of the previously posted reviews is that the first one appeared to have been written by someone close to the author - the ONLY review that gave this horrendously overpriced waste of paper a positive review.

This textbook is, without question, one of the WORST I've ever come across - and I've read many. Not only do I have a significant amount of education (I'm currently working on a second master's degree) but have also spent many years teaching others (including graduate level courses). Considering that this is the ninth edition, it's hard to understand just why anyone would continue to use it as an "introductory" text. Even the headings found on Amazon reviews for the last edition clearly highlight just some of the numerous problems that remain in this obscenely overpriced book; these include statements such as:

• Miserable Book
• Avoid - do NOT use book as reference do NOT use in a class!
• Not for the faint of heart • Author knows, the rest of us guess
• NOT a good book for beginners

There have been so many complaints in my own introductory database class, that our instructor is now actively seeking another text to use instead of this one. So, what exactly is wrong with this book? Plenty! Examples:

1. Verbose to an extreme - rambling discussions regarding topics that are only remotely related to the topic being covered.

2. Examples are filled with mistakes or are just plain wrong. My copy is now filled with corrections and comments from my instructor to NOT use the examples provided.

3. Chapter "summaries" are, more often than not, two or more full pages of solid text - and these are just the "summaries." Neither the author nor the editors of this book seem cognizant of just what a summary is - ever heard of bullet points, guys?

4. One of the most basic, primary, characteristics of quality teaching is the ability to "teach a little and then apply it." Instead, Kroenke bombards the senses with an ENORMOUS number of concepts in every single chapter, there is simply so much, that it is not possible to assimilate everything that is covered. Nor is it ever appropriate to cover so much matterial at one time. Kroenke even has the audacity to note, in the introduction of one chapter near the beginning of the book, that readers should read the chapter "several times" in order to understand the material! Sure, it is often important to re-read SOME things but not entire chapters! Regardless of how many times you do attempt to get through the material - much remains incomprehensible due to horrible presentation of the material!

5. Diagrams and other graphic materials are spread all over each chapter, although usually on pages other than their explanation. Not only does this make things extremely difficult when trying to understand them but the very fact that one must read an extensive amount of text just to begin understanding what the example provides, before trying to figure out the exact concept that the example is trying the demonstrate, defeats the entire purpose of graphic examples in the first place!

I've now resorted to buying other books in order to understand what we're covering in our class. That has, without question, been FAR more useful than wasting anymore time with this nightmare.

Rating:
Summary: The most frustrating worthless book for beginners. AVOID IT
Review: I had to purchase this for an intro to Databases class. The author chooses to use vocabulary that easily confused EVERYONE taking this class.

We often joke before going into class. We all hate this book and wish another were in it's place. Since the textbook is hard to understand, it's caused alot of frustration for the class. Not everyone likes the class as much, BECAUSE the text is so verbose.

I know that I'll have to learn more about databases in the future and I've learned alot from other sources already. However, this piece of garbage will promptly go where it belongs when I finish this class.

In the burnpile, in my backyard. There, I will burn things that are useless, like this book.

I could return it to the bookstore. But that would mean someone else would suffer the same frustration. You could also argue that the bookstore would give me money for the book, when they do their annual book buyback.

I would naturally insist that they spend the money on textbooks that teach, not confuse and frustrate.

Perhaps the author should read George Orwell's Essay on how to write effectively: Politics and the English Language (1946)

Here's a link:

http://www.resort.com/~prime8/Orwell/patee.html

Rating:
Summary: A Text with 9 Editions should have Done Better
Review: I use this book to teach database course as part of information systems management program. The update to the 9th edition is a big relief to me since it makes considerable improvement from the 8th edition, though I still feel disappointed time by time during my preparation and teaching. The 9th edition perhaps is a quick fix to the 8th edition and a lot remain to be corrected or improved.

First, let me discuss some of the strengths of this book as textbook. This book covers not only relational database itself, but also the database applications, which is essential to build an in-depth understanding of database technology. It covers managing Oracle and SQL Server in two separate chapters, which makes it easier for instructors to tailor the book. It has extensive coverage of database access technologies that enhance the understanding of database processing.

This book does contain quite a few vague and confusing discussions on some important issues and concepts, even to subjects as basic as entity, entity class and entity instance. This makes the book sometimes difficult for beginners and students and irritating for experienced practionaers.

In my opinion, the author sometimes deliver material without enough consideration of the course flow or the style of the book. For instance, the discussion of the synthesis of relations is in a very different tone from the rest of the book. There are many occations like this one that cause this book unnecessary difficult to read. Though the book has devoted entire two chapters to Oracle and SQL Server, it fails to provide an adequate coverage of database industry, vendors and products. It does not provide good overview for the architectures Oracle and SQL Server, either.

Upon reading and teaching this textbook, I have the impression that the author often fails to deliver adequate and correct discussions of many of the contemporary technologies widely used in the industry. For instance, the discussion of database access technologies contains many incomplete and incorrect statements. Often efforts are made more to details other than concepts. Apparently the author is teaching us something that he does not understand well.

Some of the newly added contents are not very well designed and organized. Part V is titled Database Access Standards. I do not understand why Chapter 14, with subjects such as OLAP, data warehouse, data administration, is placed as a chapter here. I do not understand either why the author does not consider XML be a part of Chapter 14. I believe the author should also cover data integration in this chapter. Though the author spends 3 chapters to discuss database access technology, I feel most of the efforts are devoted to lengthy and poor-written ASP/VBScript, and JSP codes that do not help much to the understanding of the concepts and should be covered by other books and courses. Surprisingly, the author does not cover multi-tier architecture. For me, merely one chapter to cover the latest client/server and Internet architectures, as well as the various data access layer implementations, including the conceptual coverage of the contemporary database access technologies such as ODBC, OLE DB, ADO, ADO.Net, JDBC, will achieve more. I also suggest the author to enhance significantly the coverage for Chapter 14, since OLAP, data warehouse and data management and database administration are fundamental for database course.

Overall, I feel the databae coverage of this text is far more professional than the database applications part.

Rating:
Summary: Totally Worthless
Review: Isn't it odd, to say the least, at how some of the reviewers subject us to lengthy discourses on the virtues of the Kroenke's resume and ignore the actual content of this awful book? It's only too bad that they avoid the real problem with this incomprehensible and worthless text - it's not comprehensible! The Amazon review instructions specifically state, "Please be sure to focus your comments on the book's content." Therefore, let's suggest that Kroenke and his editors learn how to WRITE a book that others may understand. This books wanders and wanders and wanders through endless details and goes "nowhere fast" and "fast nowhere" at the same time. Even a cursory glance at this book will show just how excessively wordy this book is. (Could that be the reason why the publisher doesn't permit samples of this book to be viewed on Amazon?) No one in our class can understand it and our professor seems to have heard our cries loud and clear. He has shared this book with his colleagues, because we have complained, only to discover that the professors that ALREADY UNDERSTAND databases understand this book and those that do not SPEICALIZE in databases have difficulties with it. If our IT professors are having difficulties with the book, it's no wonder that we are having problems too. Our prof is now trying to provide us with a lot of other materials because this book is worthless.

Rating:
Summary: Kroenke sets out to counsel the student on the database tech
Review: Kroenke sets out to counsel the student on the database technology

A.) general approach and philosophy for database technology

In Database Processing: Fundamentals, Design, and Implementation, Ninth Edition, Kroenke meticulously and methodically builds a framework for the database technology.

Step-by-step, they lay out a general approach and philosophy for database technology (as quite distinct from mere technical textbook) followed by the systematic discource of the technology(i.e., Data Modeling, Database design, ODBC, OLE DB, ADO, ASP, XML, JDBC); a detailed discussion of E-R model and schema; and a description of certain underlying differences between different technical background and consideration. As a result, the reader emerges with a solid philosophy and approach for the database technology and the analytical tools to make actual practices feasible and robust.

B.) The breadth and the scope of database technology

The merit of the book is due to the breadth of its content, the scope of technology application it tries to give and the down to earth experience/ direction it offers as an introductory textbook for students who want to pursue a further career in database industry and database industry, particularly on the following issues:

Application wisdom - Equips students with the acumen and understanding of the technology from an industry old hand,

Down-to earth counsel - provide an insight that is indepensible yet very intuitive for further study, some of them will almost accompany students of database for a lifetime (like discussion of schema, and the idea that a schema is actually a model of user model),

Internet layer - Featuring key components of the emerging XML Web services standards. Gives students cutting-edge knowledge that will make them more marketable when seeking employment.

C.) Abound with gems of wisdom and authentic and hands-on common sense

Although many of the examples of the book might look a bit "Verbose" (as an other reviewer put it) at a first read, they do in fact abound with gems of wisdom. In the end, you'll realize the whole work is impregnated with a genuine, authentic and hands-on common sense (in my opinion, a rather rare quality in the world of database books).

Most of its hidden and simple wisdom I discovered only after the second or third read. The more you dig, the more you'll get out of it. In one word, a bible against bubbles, to read again and again. In fact, its basic and down to earth common sense will increase your feeling of application towards (the selection of) database technology (again, a rare quality for today's database books).

Ah yes, the style is sophisticated and pleasant but never complicated, although the intrinsic and intricate logic of the whole approach does not unravel immediately to a profane reader or to the technical bigott. The fact is that the arguments are presented without pretension or boggus pomp (again, a rare quality in the world of database, let alone database books). The writing style is one of lucidity and humbleness, content to draw clear and simple facts to your attention in order to make a point and to let a philosophy slowly emerge. Enjoy, time is the secret.

D.) Highly effective and influential teacher

Apparently, David Kroenke, a successful database developer in his own right, was also a highly effective and influential teacher, and his methods and language are refreshingly clear and (believe it or not) insightful.

Just a glance at the professional resume of Kroenke would be convincing enough for introductory CS students to buy up most of the insights and advices he offer as regards the database technology and the industry experience inside the text.

Kroenke is one of the pioneers in database technology. In 1971, while working at the Pentagon, he programmed one of the world抇s first DBMS products. In 1974, Grace Hopper appointed him to the CODAYSL EUF committee and in 1977 he worked as a consultant for Fred Brooks at IBM. He helped to start the Microrim Corporation where he led the development of the R:base family of DBMS products.

In a 1991 article, Wayne Ratliff credited one of Kroenke's textbooks for giving him the idea for the development of database. In 1989 Kroenke consulted to Microsoft on the project that lead to the development of Microsoft Access. He is also the father of the semantic object model, a data model which many believe is superior to the entity-relationship model.

E.) Not for the faint of heart, wisdom discovered only after the second or third read

This book is neither an idiot or dummy type teach yourself booklet nor an empty academic exercise.

Instead, Kroenke sets out to counsel the student on the database technology.