Book for SQL novice
This book is good for a person whom does not know any thing about SQL and Database Designing. If you are an Experience whom trying to get ready for the exam. then save your money and look for different one. This book will just wast your time.
Microsoft Blew it - Again
This book is so full of ommissions and errors that it is virtually usless as a tutorial or reference.
More of a course on SQL than an exam prep guide...
I used this book with the intention of passing Microsoft's 70-229 exam. Although I took the exam yesterday and passed, it was not due to the material in this book as much as it was taking practice exams.
As I read this book, all I could think is that it was a review of what I already knew. I have been a software developer using SQL for over 10 years now and I was a bit worried that this book wasn't giving me the information I needed to pass the exam. I got a great refresher of SQL DDL and DML commands and even learned a few things I didn't know. I learned a little about how SQL Server works specifically.
It wasn't until I finished reading the book and began taking the Transcender practice exams that I began to realize what I would be in store for on the actual exam. The Transcender practice exams were a very accurate simulation as to how the actual exam would look, I would recommend them to anyone. As a matter of fact, some of the Transcender exam questions looked very similar to ones I saw on the real exam. I did not take the practice test in the text of the book or on the supplied CD, so I cannot comment on their quality. From my experience, the exams offered for free in books are not very good.
This book would be a lot better if it modeled the exam a bit more. The exam likes to present a situation and ask what you should do to solve a particular problem. For instance, a example Security question on the exam goes something like this:
"John creates a table and you create a view on that table. Neither of you belong to the sysadmin role. The users in the sales department try using the view and they report that they cannot access the information they need. What should you do?"
I would have liked the book more if it presented examples like this to illustrate the information presented. As a matter of fact, this book reminds me of an information dump. Like most Microsoft exam study guides I have read in the past, they simply back up the information truck and dump the load onto you. You are responsible for figuring out how to apply that knowledge. But guess what? The exam test you on applying that knowledge.
Good overview, but still needs an assist.
The book gives a cursory overview of the topics needed for the exam. This comes as no surprise since the teams that write the courses/books and the teams that write the exams are completely separate and do not work with each other. The book has serious problem with errors, particularly when describing the examples, the text and examples don't match. But if you are at all familiar with Microsoft's other products such as application software or operating systems, this should come as no surprise.
Again, while the book does give you a brief look at the topics you will need to explore, I found purchasing Self Test Software's practice exams to be of more help in both preparing for the test and understanding the materials. Their explanations of the correct and incorrect answers helps flesh out the missing pieces of this book.
Exam Topic Overview Only
This book gives an introduction to the topics required for the exam but nowhere near the detail required. Attempt a practice exam after reading the book and you will realise how inadequate this training resource truly is.
