Re: SQL For Smarties 3rd Edition

From: -CELKO- <jcelko212_at_earthlink.net>
Date: 29 Oct 2006 10:19:40 -0800
Message-ID: <1162145979.920148.323230@e3g2000cwe.googlegroups.com>

>> I bought SQL for Smarties -- and felt ripped-off. <<

Sorry about that ..

>> I read someone else's copy of your treatment of trees, graphs, hierarchies, whatever (I don't remember the exact title.) and thought it was pretty vapid. <<

That might have been an O'Reilly book that was basically a re-write of SFS materials. Their books include: SQL Hacks, SQL Hacks: Rough Cuts Version, The Art of SQL and SQL Cookbook which are all programming trick collections.

>> whatever in the world have Data Encoding Schemes, Access Structures, NCITS Standards for Naming Data Elements, and Check Digit algorithms to do with database theory? <<

To quote from the introduction of DATA & DATABASES:

00.0 Preface

This book is a collection of ideas about the nature of data and databases. Some of the material has appeared in different forms in my regular columns in the computer trade and academic press, on CompuServe forum groups, on the Internet and over beers at conferences for several years. Some of it is new to this volume.

This book is not a complete, formal text about any particular database theory and will not be too mathematical to read easily. Its purpose is to provide foundations and philosophy to the working programmer so that they can understand what they do for a living in greater depth. The topic of each chapter could be a book in itself and usually has been.

What in that intro in this (or any of my other books) lead you to think that this was about pure theory? "The pumpkin is largely a failure as a shade tree."-- Mark Twain

The best book for that topic is THE THEORY OF RELATIONAL DATABASES by David Maier (ISBN 0-914894-42-0) which has been out of print for years, but there are used copies on Amazon.com and other places. It is a clearly written mathematical textbook with student exercises. It is a great book to use when you are teaching a graduate seminar in pure theory.

I wish he would do a revised version. It was writen in the 1980's and some of the laer chapters on implemenations and languages show that age.

>> All-in-all, a very Celko-esque response: "Buy my book!" <<

Gee, you would think I earn my living writing and consulting! Oh wait! I do. I must be the only person working for a living in this newsgroup ... Received on Sun Oct 29 2006 - 12:19:40 CST

Re: SQL For Smarties 3rd Edition - ATTN Joe Celko