Ramez Elmasri (1950–2022)

I adore this book. It pulls no punches. The only reason I took a star away is because the density of the material hinders its usability. But it is ALL THERE! This is NOT a book for learning the fundamentals of connecting your program to a database (although that is there you will loose your mind looking at the stuff around it). This is the fundamentals of databases, a concept that attempts to implement a solution to one of the most complex and abstract areas of computer science; the relationship between data and information.… (mais)

I love computers, and I love learning all about computers. But one of my least favorite subjects has got to be Databases.

And this is the book to blame.

My impression of this book was that it was written by the two authors and their favorite graduate students, and not even reviewed by a single person who understands computers but is new to databases. It's written more for somebody who understands databases, versus the neophyte I was when I expected a book with the word fundamentals in the title to mean that I wouldn't need much more background than I already had in computers.

I was wrong.

This book is written so rigidly that it's a chore to get through. Sure, I learned a little bit about databases, but not 1009 pages worth. I learned more from poking around in Access or mySQL, or reading online materials, than I did from this book, and this book was meant to exist in an academic (i.e. learning) environment, where the other materials I read weren't.

Definitely find another book if you need a fundamentals book. If you already know a lot about databases and want to pat yourself on the head because of that, then this might be the book for you.… (mais)