An overview only, not enough for exam   July 30, 2000

Already familiar with SQL, then this book is AWESOME!   July 26, 1999

Bob Collier MCSE + I, MCT, A+


Made it through   July 13, 1999
  1 out of 4 found this review helpful

Working with SQL 7.0 and this made the test easiest enough to pass, but make sure you know how to use the product.


Very good, despite the minor errors   July 11, 1999
  1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I agree that there are a few obvious errors and that it wasn't proofread as well as it should have been; considering that this is New Riders IS surprising.

However, as a highly experienced 6.5 admin, I'm still glad I bought this one because it gets right to the point on all you need to know about version 7's exam. Despite the minor errors, I still stand behind New Riders all the way.

There is no such thing as a completely error-free study guide, which is why we should all be thankful for things like publishers errata Web sites, newgroups, and (of course) Amazon.com


Errors might catch you!   June 16, 1999
  2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Hm, well the book opens with listing it's target audience. It mentions four "highlights" - brevity, focus, concentrated value and classroom tested. Well it's brief at 170 pages of material. And that is very cool (I wanted to say, at last!!!) It says it focuses on "people who know the technology but are not yet certified." This is where I have to say I was a little put off. I'm going to get to three errors in the first 29 pages, which leads me to question how successful they have been at that! "Concentrated value" in their terms says that the book might appeal to the wider audience - but with the errors, I think not!

Let me get to the nitty-gritty that makes me say that this book was not proof read too closely. These are some simple examples of sloppy work. Page 25 lists the objects in SQL 7 and gives a definition for each. However, they list VIEW twice - and each time with a different definition. On page 28 they talk about SQL application design. They show a graphic, then next to the graphic give a description of each of the four scenarios that can be used. Their definition of "intelligent Server" is incorrect, and does not match the graphic shown to illustrate it. The "business" element is completely missing from the description, they replace it with "presentation". Finally, they define "NT and SQL Authentication" and fail to explain that mixed mode allows for EITHER Windows NT authentication OR a unique SQL login. Their explanation leads you to believe that you MUST have a unique SQL login and that NT account authentication pass-through does not work. I will add - their minimum hardware requirements are off - and don't match MS's own material, either.

The book contains only one test to try - which is disappointing. It comes at the end of the book - so there is no reinforcement after each chapter. I like the idea of this book - but the execution here is poor. The editors were sloppy - which really hurts the value. I have not finished the book - probably not inclined to since there are errors so early on. I'll read some more to see what other errors I can find. Sadly, this is one great idea gone bad.