OCA: Oracle Database 11g Administrator Certified Associate Study Guide: Exams1Z0-051 and 1Z0-052

I have been a DBA for a 15 years and wanted to take the certification tests to improve marketability. Since I need to take two tests ... why not get a 5 star rated book to learn both tests at once? [It was 5 star when I bought the book ... hence the review ]Well the biggest reason for giving this a poort review is that the SQL section, the first test to be passed, in covered extremely poorly. Descriptions of the commands are limited and examples are sparse. I went through the book with the idea that this was everything I would need to pass the Oracle SQL exam ... and discovered I was wrong. The material covered here was about 50% of the material needed and the exam questions in this book, vs. the actual test, were no comparison. The real test was significantly harder. Material on the exams was not covered period, and what was covered did not really help me to understand all the 'boundary' cases that the exam focuses on.The sections covering database architecture are much better. I happen to know this material very well as this is where my day-to-day activities lie. The material was a much better match to the material needed for the test and it was reflected in the fact that nearly 2/3'rd of the book focuses on DBA topics vs. SQL.Summary ... this is a decent book for studying for the DBA exam, but for the SQL exam it is far from acceptable. A better, though still flawed, SQL book would be:  OCA: Oracle Database 11g Administrator Certified Associate Study Guide: (Exams1Z0-051 and 1Z0-052)

I ended up failing the test by 2 questions even though I've been a Sr. DBA for 4 years and I read this book while taking notes and reviewed the test questions/answers. There is simply too much information in this book. I felt like the test only asked about 1 out of 1000 of the tidbits of information that are given. It's possible that they cover any and all details that are covered here but this book is pretty much nothing more than Oracle University class materials ordered in a fashion that mimik the test. In short, I could have written this book since I have the class materials in a book shelf.I did go ahead and give it 3 stars because technically it had all of the information that you need. Just a bit more than you ever would.

Well, it has a lot of information in it and it looks like I am going to have to actually read all of it and hopefully pass on my second try. If you think you can know every single question's answer at the end of each chapter of the book and pass the 1Z0-052, you are wrong. The actual test specifically has almost no content from these questions and I guess that is smart of PearsonView and Oracle. Darn it.

This review applies to the kindle version only. While the book seems to cover the topic and getting a Kindle version is quick and simple beware there is no provision for dealing with the accompanying CDROM. This I think is a little short sighted and myopic but heck what do they care most books don't have a CDROM with them so your screwed if you want the sample code that is in the book and in my case the practice exams.To you folks at Amazon who this obvious deficiency went straight over their heads I have the following suggestions.Why not provide a link to a CDROM ISO image and we could download it and burn the cd after purchase. AT THE VERY MINIMUM mention that the CDROM is not included in the Kindle version. It isn't mentioned anywhere I looked. Or was this intentional?

This book focuses on the exam criteria very well, and provides useful examples to put the topics in context, so you can learn about how the various topics are used, in addition to memorizing the differences between the nvl() function and the nvl2() function. The book is laid out well with clear examples. The sample test questions are similar to the real thing.

I started styudying immediately, full of examples, tests and explanations...a good tool to prepare for the exams, worth the spending

The book was exactly what I was expecting and it was exactly as it was shown, it came with the CD and in perfect conditions, I hope I can take my certification this year.

studied the first half of this book and took some practice test and now I'm Oracle SQL Fundamentals certified. So in short, the book works.

Excellent read and great resource!

La versione kindle è inutilizzabile.C'è davvero bisogno del cartaceo. Le tabelle sono davvero difficili da seguire sul kindle. Forse su schermo pc è meglio

Anche se non edito da Oracle Press, questo libro è un ottimo compagno di studio per la certificazione OCA, la prima della strada di Oracle.