Oracle Database 11g A Beginners Guide Book Review

Learn Essential Oracle Database Skills

Oracle Database 11g A Beginner’s Guide is a new updated version in the Oracle Press “Beginner’s Guide” series. The beginner’s guide is just that a beginner’s guide, but I expected it to be the “New Features” book, which Oracle Press does also publish.

If you’re like me when a new Oracle database version is released, I am only interested in the new features and what new functionality has been added. The Beginner’s Guide is someone who has never really used an Oracle database.
It begins by telling you about the basics of Oracle and how it all works. It then instructs you how to install the database and the many ways of how to connect to the database. There is a large chapter on the basics of SQL and how to program PL/SQL.

There are also sections on dealing with backups and recovering the Oracle database. There is also a chapter on getting high availability out of your Oracle database by using RAC, ASM and Data Guard.

There is a nice chapter on how to handle and get the best out of large databases. Topics discussed include using Data Partitioning, Data Compression, Parallel Processing, using Materialised Views as well as using SQL for aggregation and analysis functions.

A nice thing about The Oracle Database 11g A Beginner’s Guide book is that it’s divided into “Critical Skill” and “Project” sections. The “Critical Skill” sections are at the beginning of the chapters and they highlight what you will learn by the end of the chapter. “Projects” are mini tasks allowing you to try out your newly acquired Oracle knowledge. There are also “Ask the Expert” and “Progress Checks” sections to help you in your learning.

Overall, this is a good book on Oracle for beginners. It covers all the main concepts and gives you a good grounding in SQL and PL/SQL.