underwhelmed
I am sure this guy knows his stuff, but it sure didn't come through very clearly. I would recommend a re-write with a new editor. There didn't seem to be a smooth transistion from introduction to the deep dive. Examples are explanations of checkpoint and latches.
By the way, the Index was horrible.
Maybe it is because he came from a dev environment as opposed to systems viewpoint. Anyway, not impressed with the overall presentation, which is a shame because it looks like he has paid his dues and has something to contribute.
Very beginner's book
Before you buying it, please do take a look at the content pages. I believe every oracle dba who has over 1 year experience will be disappointed by those basic topics.
I would say, it might be a good book for trainning java developers, who have to write some embeded SQL codes.
Excellent book for new DBA's and good review book for the experienced
This is an excellent book for the new someone new to performance tuning. It gives very clear and simple explanation to the approach to PT. It is a good mix of technical scripts and verbose. The author is not too chatty neither he is boring. He brings out complex ideas in a simple way without too much of mathematical jargons. Definately recommended.
Update
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Well with all the tuning books available now... I would say this in not the top of the line performance book. Its good but if I could I would give 3.5 stars out of 5
Vague and primitive
I have read this book and regrettably found it primitive and obscure. The author seems to have a bit of Java and development knowledge but not much of knowledge as a designer or DBA. His explanation of various items are rudimentary and shallow. When he talks about Cost based optimizer and the way it is used in Oracle, it is pretty clear to me that the author is very light in understanding the basic concepts. There are also a lot of technical errors in describing various constructs and utilities. I think this book will be useful for newcomers but hardly is a "High Performance Tuning book" as the book's title says. There are much better books around. Any of Tom Kyte's books will leave this book standing.
Worth the Investment
In his book "Oracle High Performance Tuning for 9i and 10g", Mr Powell has provided a methodical framework for addressing a complex challenge by covering all three logical aspects - data model, SQL and physical - of tuning in highly readable and practical format.
The difficulty in Oracle tuning stems from the fact that the process typically involves many skill sets - from data modeling to application development to database and network administration. In between, throw in the quintessential queueing theory, hardware advances, models in concrete, domain knowledge, etc. and it can really stretch both the depth and breadth of your team's or your capabilities and interests. Mr Powell was able to address most of these issues through invaluable pointers throughout the book and kept me interested to explore the pages.
I was thus fortunate to find this book during the middle of a database migration project. Using it as a guide, I managed to put the principles (not heavy-duty theories) and working samples (yes! they worked beautifully) into action amid tight timelines. If you put in the time and effort to go through the chapters and examples, you will easily understand why I, who has for sometime stop buying IT books, consider this book as having one of the highest ROI in my library so far.
Where I find useful, but not available, are the sample databases and perhaps the inclusion of graphical query paths in the samples to illustrate the design of SQL re-write.
Overall, the book has offered a balanced, practical treatment of the subject in a concise, intelligent format. But above all and to me most important, it has been a pleasure to read. Thanks for the sharing and keep up the writing, Mr Powell!
(11 reviews)
