Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 Unleashed

Rating:
Summary: Great Addition to BOL
Review: Does this book have every answer to every question about SQL Server 7.0? No. However, if you need more information than the Books Online provide on just about any topic, this book delivers.

Rating:
Summary: Great reference book!
Review: In my position, I am tasked with researching potential problems and one of these was the anticipated conversion to SQL 7.0. This book provided the necessary information to research the areas of concern and assuage issues related to them.

I have experience with SQL 6.5 but not to the level I would like. This book has helped me learn more about 7.0 than I knew of 6.5.

Rating:
Summary: The Red Squiggly Thing Test.
Review: Recently, I decided that I needed to learn a good bit more about the workings of J2EE. Especially about its implementation using BEA's Weblogic Server. This also requires implementing a database for object persistence. I have had the CD for SQL Server 7.0 for a couple of years and never used it. 'Now is the time,' I told myself.

In very little time, I managed to get the database installed and updated. I brought it up and started to create a couple of users and suddenly notices that the little server icon in the Enterprise Manager had a red squiggly mark next to it that had not been there before. I did the usual magical acts, waved the cursor at it, right clicked on it, tried help, but nothing explained what it meant. I even resorted to reading the documentation. 'Aha!' I said, 'Time to buy a book.'

There was not much choice at the bookstore, and I was in a hurry, so I grabbed this book and went home. Moreover, promptly, I discovered that nowhere in 'SQL Server 7.0' was the red squiggly thing explained. In fact, after reading a good portion of the book hoping to find and off-hand explanation, I realized that this particular book was a representative of one of my pet technical book peeves, the 800-page rehash of the manual. Well, since the manual is online, and it is nice to have something you can make notes in it is not a complete loss. However, actually, I would just as soon have the money.

Keep in mind that my objective was not to master the software, but to do a competent enough job to get on with my real agenda. I bought this volume to be a handy extensive reference, not a paperweight. The book's arrangement is a bit haphazard, the writing is simple enough but lacks and depth, and the index is little better than the table of contents. It claims to be about database management, performance and architecture. But, it does not really provide enough meat to be a good learning resource.

By now, I should know enough to be suspicious of anything using marketing like 'unleashed,' or 'comprehensive,' or 'authoritative.' But, faced with the dreaded red squiggly, I did not quite know what else to do. The good news is that squiggled or not, every thing seems to be working so far. Hopefully there is a world where technical books are about what the say they are and manuals are easy to read. And, hopefully, I will get there before my time runs out.

Rating:
Summary: The Red Squiggly Thing Test.
Review: Recently, I decided that I needed to learn a good bit more about the workings of J2EE. Especially about its implementation using BEA's Weblogic Server. This also requires implementing a database for object persistence. I have had the CD for SQL Server 7.0 for a couple of years and never used it. 'Now is the time,' I told myself.

In very little time, I managed to get the database installed and updated. I brought it up and started to create a couple of users and suddenly notices that the little server icon in the Enterprise Manager had a red squiggly mark next to it that had not been there before. I did the usual magical acts, waved the cursor at it, right clicked on it, tried help, but nothing explained what it meant. I even resorted to reading the documentation. 'Aha!' I said, 'Time to buy a book.'

There was not much choice at the bookstore, and I was in a hurry, so I grabbed this book and went home. Moreover, promptly, I discovered that nowhere in 'SQL Server 7.0' was the red squiggly thing explained. In fact, after reading a good portion of the book hoping to find and off-hand explanation, I realized that this particular book was a representative of one of my pet technical book peeves, the 800-page rehash of the manual. Well, since the manual is online, and it is nice to have something you can make notes in it is not a complete loss. However, actually, I would just as soon have the money.

Keep in mind that my objective was not to master the software, but to do a competent enough job to get on with my real agenda. I bought this volume to be a handy extensive reference, not a paperweight. The book's arrangement is a bit haphazard, the writing is simple enough but lacks and depth, and the index is little better than the table of contents. It claims to be about database management, performance and architecture. But, it does not really provide enough meat to be a good learning resource.

By now, I should know enough to be suspicious of anything using marketing like 'unleashed,' or 'comprehensive,' or 'authoritative.' But, faced with the dreaded red squiggly, I did not quite know what else to do. The good news is that squiggled or not, every thing seems to be working so far. Hopefully there is a world where technical books are about what the say they are and manuals are easy to read. And, hopefully, I will get there before my time runs out.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent experience-based book
Review: This book was a tad dissappointing to me. Maybe that is because of the standards I have come to expect from the unleashed series. In my opinion, the 6.5 sql server unleashed book is more thorough. While this book is still a good reference, it does not provide the in-depth coverage of the more advanced topics that everyone has come to expect from the unleashed team.

Rating:
Summary: SQL Server 7 Unleashed
Review: This was my first Unleashed series book. I was studying for my MCP in SQL Server 7, Using the Microsoft Official Curriculum. I decided to purchase this book in order to fill in the gaps. I a great book. No doubt about it. Chapters on Transactions, Locks, Indexing, VLDBS etc.. were great. I think I am an MCP in SQL Server today because of this book. Even though this book is written by many authors, you don't feel it. Buy it now.

Rating:
Summary: One of my worst buys this year!
Review: We were planning to make this book a reference for an undergraduate course in SQL Server, however we changed our minds after reviewing it... This book doesn't cover ANY subject properly: it is neither introductory nor detailed. (A Web search consistently gives me more information than using the book with index/TOC)
That's a pity for the "Unleashed" Series.

Rating:
Summary: Once excellent series goes average
Review: Why is everyone giving this book such high marks? SQL 7.0 unleashed is a decent reference which covers the basics but not much else.

The SQL unleashed series took a step back. I'm very disappointed that this incredible reference has now become simply average. Don't get rid of your SQL 6.5 unleashed...you'll still need it! The 6.5 edition was a masterful tome which included all kinds of wondeful info that couldn't be found anywhere else. The 7.0 book is sparse on the very details that made the 6.5 version so endearing.

By the way...David Soloman is not an author on this book (as listed above). In fact this is an entirely different team of writers than were on 6.5. Two of the heros of 6.5 edition, Spenik and Sledge are the authors of the top SQL book on my desk: SQL 7.0 DBA Survival Guide.