After a few years of checking, Theory and Practice of Relational Databases has finally had a book review at amazon.co.uk
Unfortunately, it’s not a particularly complimentary review. But I’m bound to say so given I co-authored the book. The reviewer is a frustrated student (at Oxford Brookes), where setting required texts doesn’t naturally endear a reader to the author, especially if the lecturer wrote the book (I know, I moaned about such tie-ins myself).
Whilst I share his view that relational databases are actually reasonably straight forward (once you ‘get it’), the reviewer seems to fail to appreciation that - at degree level - it’s important to understand more than the basic principles: It’s necessary to appreciate, and demonstrate, much of the reasoning and proof behind it. In industry, I’m often shocked at the lack of basic relational database knowledge (both theory and practice) demonstrated by developers who seem to think that SQL is the be-all and end-all of databases.
T&P deliberately focuses on theory, as many of the other database course texts gloss over this aspect. Even Steven Hawking avoided mathematical examples in A Brief History of Time, knowing they can loose and confuse readers. T&P is filled with them - a deliberate decision on Stefan’s part - and it’s very hard to combine detailed proofs and a Dan Brown-like readability.
In way of defence, my minor contribution to the book is two chapters of a more practical nature. One is on LEAP, and the other on coding up basic database tools. They are designed to provide solid worked examples, and thereby give a context in which the theory the students are studying can be demonstrated. That is, after all, the title of the book: Theory and Practice of Relational Databases, and the first edition was all theory and little practice, something Stefan and I were keen to redress.
But still, one bad review does not a consensus make. I’m sure the reviewer did very well in his exams…
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September 10th, 2005 at 11:38 pm
I just baught this book today, it was available for a vert nice price in a bookstore next to me (Egypt/Africe).
I mainly bought for the love of the relational model, and people who want more theory.
Expect another review in a month or so. First impression, I wish the book was more indepth, I also have Elmasri’s Fundamentals of Database Management (2nd edition), so another reason I bought reason I bought this book it to read a different view of the matter, hopefully my next book would be C.J. Date Introductiion to Database.
Good luck
March 22nd, 2006 at 9:29 pm
[...] Yet it’s very easy to read recommendations and reviews on many websites. Amazon have always had reader recommendations. In fact, a book I contributed a couple of chapters to got a bad review from a disgruntled student, and that is no doubt putting a lot of folk off the book here in the UK. Dooyoo do similar for consumer items, which works very well. [...]