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SQL Expert and SQL Fundamentals I guides from Matthew Morris. Review? [message #554893]

Fri, 18 May 2012 08:14

oranooob
Messages: 88
Registered: May 2009

Member

Hi

I found those two books from Matthew Morris

Study Guide for 1Z0-047: Oracle Database SQL Expert: Oracle Certification Prep [ISBN-13: 978-1475152432]
Study Guide for 1Z0-051: Oracle Database 11g: SQL Fundamentals I: Oracle Certification Prep
[ISBN-13: 978-1475204667]

on Amazon.com there is no review. Do you recommend me?

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Re: SQL Expert and SQL Fundamentals I guides from Matthew Morris. Review? [message #555477 is a reply to message #554893]

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:18

matthewmorris68
Messages: 258
Registered: May 2012
Location: Orlando, FL

Senior Member

oranoob:

I am the author of that series. I'm not going to recommend for (or against) buying the books, but I can answer questions if you have any. My first question to you would be why you're asking about 1Z0-047 and 1Z0-051? Generally you don't take both (at least not in a short timeframe). If you're not sure which of the two you want to take, I wrote an article that was recently published at www.gocertify.com that discusses the differences between the two tests and why you might choose one over the other.

I will say that the books in the Oracle Certification prep series are designed primarily to cement existing knowledge rather than teach you the exam subjects from ground zero. If you have no Oracle SQL experience at all, another book would be a better choice for you. If you have a fair knowledge of the subject, but want something to help strengthen your knowledge in the test topics, that's the primary intent of the books. They're really designed for someone who either has some job experience in the area being tested who wants something to help them brush up quickly on the exam topics, or someone who has used another source, but wants a second reference to reinforce what they learned from the first.

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Re: SQL Expert and SQL Fundamentals I guides from Matthew Morris. Review? [message #555580 is a reply to message #555477]

Fri, 25 May 2012 03:56

oranooob
Messages: 88
Registered: May 2009

Member

Thank you Matthew for feedback. I ordered both books and will write short review.

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Re: SQL Expert and SQL Fundamentals I guides from Matthew Morris. Review? [message #555625 is a reply to message #555580]

Fri, 25 May 2012 09:22

matthewmorris68
Messages: 258
Registered: May 2012
Location: Orlando, FL

Senior Member

You're welcome. I hope you enjoy the books.

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Re: SQL Expert and SQL Fundamentals I guides from Matthew Morris. Review? [message #556121 is a reply to message #555625]

Thu, 31 May 2012 07:30

saipradyumn
Messages: 419
Registered: October 2011
Location: Hyderabad

Senior Member

Hi

where do we get these two books ?
Do we need to buy them ?
Or
Is there free down load ficilty

Thanks
SaiPradyumn

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Re: SQL Expert and SQL Fundamentals I guides from Matthew Morris. Review? [message #556127 is a reply to message #556121]

Thu, 31 May 2012 07:50

Michel Cadot
Messages: 68718
Registered: March 2007
Location: Saint-Maur, France, https...

Senior Member
Account Moderator

Quote:

Do we need to buy them ?

Of course, do you think people spend days and days to write a book for free?

Regards
Michel

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Re: SQL Expert and SQL Fundamentals I guides from Matthew Morris. Review? [message #556134 is a reply to message #555625]

Thu, 31 May 2012 07:58

matthewmorris68
Messages: 258
Registered: May 2012
Location: Orlando, FL

Senior Member

>Where do we get these two books ?

They are available from Amazon

Study Guide for 1Z0-051: Oracle Database 11g: SQL Fundamentals I
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007USZ7BW/

Study Guide for 1Z0-047: Oracle Database SQL Expert
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007RRWT1M

>Do we need to buy them ?
>Or
>Is there free down load ficilty

The only material you're likely to find for free on certification tests are brain dumps or stolen materials. Brain dumps are prohibited by Oracle and can cost you any Oracle certifications you have.

As for stolen materials, all of my books are available in Kindle and Nook formats, so I know that sooner or later someone will break the encryption and upload them to some sharing site. There's not a thing I can do about this, so I try not to worry about it too much. In ebook format, my study guides are about a quarter what you'd pay for most certification guides, and about five percent the cost of the certification test itself. I believe they give good value for the money.

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Re: SQL Expert and SQL Fundamentals I guides from Matthew Morris. Review? [message #556154 is a reply to message #556134]

Thu, 31 May 2012 08:57

saipradyumn
Messages: 419
Registered: October 2011
Location: Hyderabad

Senior Member

Hi matthewmorris68

Thanks

Is there any that kind of book for "IZ0:007 Introduction to Oracle 9iSQL"

Please let me know that link

Thanks
SaiPradyumn

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Re: SQL Expert and SQL Fundamentals I guides from Matthew Morris. Review? [message #556156 is a reply to message #556154]

Thu, 31 May 2012 09:10

matthewmorris68
Messages: 258
Registered: May 2012
Location: Orlando, FL

Senior Member

There are books out there for 1Z0-007. I haven't taken the time to write one because I don't expect that certification to be available much longer. It is against the 9i release of Oracle and hasn't been updated since. 10G has been out since 2003. 12c should be out shortly and I expect that test to disappear soon after.

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Re: SQL Expert and SQL Fundamentals I guides from Matthew Morris. Review? [message #556852 is a reply to message #554893]

Thu, 07 June 2012 01:30

jtschramm
Messages: 21
Registered: June 2012
Location: Tracy, CA

Junior Member

Hi Matthew:

I recently took a course at a junior college called Oracle Database Design & SQL Programming. We used the Oracle Academy cirriculum, which I found excellent. The class covered all of the material for 1Z0-051, but nothing for 1Z0-052.

To prepare for the exam, I bought the ORACLE book SQL Fundamentals I Exam Guide (by Watson and Ramklass), and I am a little underwhelmed. The book has quite a few typos just in the first chapter, and the writing style is dry. I read some reviews of the book, not too favorable.

I'm not sure how much this book will help me. Did you read it, and do you concur? I'm already thinking your book might be a better investment.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Cheers,
John

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Re: SQL Expert and SQL Fundamentals I guides from Matthew Morris. Review? [message #556938 is a reply to message #556852]

Thu, 07 June 2012 07:29

matthewmorris68
Messages: 258
Registered: May 2012
Location: Orlando, FL

Senior Member

>Did you read it, and do you concur?

No -- I haven't read that book. I got my Oracle SQL certification in the distant past when there *were* no OCA/OCP books available. I had worked for Oracle support for several years at that point and took the tests cold.

>I'm already thinking your book might be a better investment.

I won't ever get into 'My book is better than...' discussions. I will note that you are in one of the target audiences. My guides are really intended for people that already have some familiarity with the information, either from job experience or another source (like the class you took). I have steered people away from my books when they have indicated little or no experience in the subject.

As for the writing style, SQL is a dry topic -- I won't claim that my books add a great deal of spice to the subject. I don't do any character development, and the plot is extremely straightforward. The guides I write are intended to pack as much of the information that you need to know for the test in as compact a fashion as possible -- without the result becoming unreadable. At worst, the guides will be short and dry rather than long and dry.

On the topic of typos, I feel for any writers of technical manuals. Clicking through all of the false positives that spelling and grammar checkers find every time I get to that point in the proofreading process is mind-numbing.

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Re: SQL Expert and SQL Fundamentals I guides from Matthew Morris. Review? [message #556963 is a reply to message #556938]

Thu, 07 June 2012 11:16

jtschramm
Messages: 21
Registered: June 2012
Location: Tracy, CA

Junior Member

Matthew:

Thanks, I appreciate your reply. I suppose it isn't easy to make the text fast paced and riveting. Smile

However, I'm also worried about how well the book covers the required exam topics. A few of the reviews mentioned some errors in questions and that proper coverage is minimal.

I'll give it another try, and post back, and share my comments.

Thanks again.

Cheers,
John

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