This book would be better labeled "Beginning Databases with Postgresql - From Novice to Amateur with a few Provisos."



This book is good for getting you to the stage where you have some basic confidence in using PostgreSQL (an excellent database). Do NOT expect to be able to learn what it is you are learning Postgres for without a great deal of googling, hanging out on the #postgresql irc channel (hint: type ?? and topic, VERY useful), searching the mailing list archives, reading the online documentation (which is very useful), and of course, liberal use of \? and \h in psql.



After you have some basic familiarity with Postgres you will still use Matthew and Stones from time to time, looking up syntax etc. For that it is useful.



One of the most annoying things is that it promotes bad database design through the "bpsimple" and "bpfinal" sample databases. Anyone using such a database would be constantly having to clean out garbage data in their database. Take for example their customer table. Their only unique constraint is the primary key, customer_id. If they don't have either a multiple column primary key or some other unique constraint, they will constantly be getting duplicate customers.



At least when I was learning MS Access the books I used taught me good principles such that I am not having to deal with duplicate values years later.



Unfortunately due to the dearth of Postgresql books this is still one of the better offerings. I would give it 3 stars if there was more competition.

This book would be better labeled "Beginning Databases with Postgresql - From Novice to Amateur with a few Provisos."

This book is good for getting you to the stage where you have some basic confidence in using PostgreSQL (an excellent database). Do NOT expect to be able to learn what it is you are learning Postgres for without a great deal of googling, hanging out on the #postgresql irc channel (hint: type ?? and topic, VERY useful), searching the mailing list archives, reading the online documentation (which is very useful), and of course, liberal use of \? and \h in psql.

After you have some basic familiarity with Postgres you will still use Matthew and Stones from time to time, looking up syntax etc. For that it is useful.

One of the most annoying things is that it promotes bad database design through the "bpsimple" and "bpfinal" sample databases. Anyone using such a database would be constantly having to clean out garbage data in their database. Take for example their customer table. Their only unique constraint is the primary key, customer_id. If they don't have either a multiple column primary key or some other unique constraint, they will constantly be getting duplicate customers.

At least when I was learning MS Access the books I used taught me good principles such that I am not having to deal with duplicate values years later.

Unfortunately due to the dearth of Postgresql books this is still one of the better offerings. I would give it 3 stars if there was more competition.

I really wanted to like this book, but, unfortunately, after the first 100 pages, can't endorse it at all. I'm a "poweruser" of MSAccess and a general fan of databases in general. I have read enough books on SQL and know enough about database theory and implementations to know disorganized and poorly introduced subject matter when I read it. This book suffers from what a lot of database books suffer from, a smattering of this concept and that concept, mixing in a little SQL syntax with database schema design with a little snippet on good table design then off to the multi-user access features of PostgreSQL.... whoa Nelly! Sadly, the authors try to be too many things to too many audiences and the result is a mess. Understandably, the subject of databases (from theory, to implementation, to end user) is huge, writing a book to cover it all is a daunting task, and this one fails like the many that have gone before it. My apologies for not providing a list of other books I feel succeed, but time doesn't permit.

I really wanted to like this book, but, unfortunately, after the first 100 pages, can't endorse it at all. I'm a "poweruser" of MSAccess and a general fan of databases in general. I have read enough books on SQL and know enough about database theory and implementations to know disorganized and poorly introduced subject matter when I read it. This book suffers from what a lot of database books suffer from, a smattering of this concept and that concept, mixing in a little SQL syntax with database schema design with a little snippet on good table design then off to the multi-user access features of PostgreSQL.... whoa Nelly! Sadly, the authors try to be too many things to too many audiences and the result is a mess. Understandably, the subject of databases (from theory, to implementation, to end user) is huge, writing a book to cover it all is a daunting task, and this one fails like the many that have gone before it. My apologies for not providing a list of other books I feel succeed, but time doesn't permit.

I ordered this book because amazon.com bundled it with « Beginning PHP and PostgreSQL 8 ». I must admit I was happily surprised. It's definitely more than a copy of the PostgreSQL manual. Explanations are simple to understand.

There's a chapter on database design, something really important to me.

Something that surprises me too is the big part on languages. The PostgreSQL manual focused on C with libpq and there's not much on other languages. This book brings a lot of informations with PHP, Perl, Java, C#.

This book also brings informations on new PostgreSQL 8 functionnalities (tablespace, $$ quoting). Unfortunately, there's nothing on release 8.1 (CREATE ROLE for example).

Finally, a great book to begin with, a reference for the rest of us.

I ordered this book because amazon.com bundled it with � Beginning PHP and PostgreSQL 8 �. I must admit I was happily surprised. It's definitely more than a copy of the PostgreSQL manual. Explanations are simple to understand.

There's a chapter on database design, something really important to me.

Something that surprises me too is the big part on languages. The PostgreSQL manual focused on C with libpq and there's not much on other languages. This book brings a lot of informations with PHP, Perl, Java, C#.

This book also brings informations on new PostgreSQL 8 functionnalities (tablespace, $$ quoting). Unfortunately, there's nothing on release 8.1 (CREATE ROLE for example).

Finally, a great book to begin with, a reference for the rest of us.

This book teaches a huge amount of information on building PostgreSQL databases. It teaches some theory/history behind many features and can be read straight-through unlike other books I have tried for learning SQL. I am learning about the capabilities/concepts much of Databases more then I have with other beginner books I have read, with none of the try our 5 examples BS to figure out what we are trying to explain...

It also introduces many more advanced ideas and does not hesitate to recommend resources (including free ones) for learning more while it goes on to the next concept.

Definitely recommend if you have no-beginner knowledge of Databases and want a thorough introduction that will give you a sound basis for making a database application.

This book teaches a huge amount of information on building PostgreSQL databases. It teaches some theory/history behind many features and can be read straight-through unlike other books I have tried for learning SQL. I am learning about the capabilities/concepts much of Databases more then I have with other beginner books I have read, with none of the try our 5 examples BS to figure out what we are trying to explain...

It also introduces many more advanced ideas and does not hesitate to recommend resources (including free ones) for learning more while it goes on to the next concept.

Definitely recommend if you have no-beginner knowledge of Databases and want a thorough introduction that will give you a sound basis for making a database application.

This book will get you started quickly and painlessly, regardless of your previous experience with other SQL engines.

For complete beginners there is a short but sound chapter on general database design. If you are migrating from "some other open source relational database system", this book will teach you the basic peculiarities of PostgreSQL and get your server up and running in the shortest possible time.

This book is not a "complete refence", nor does it pretend to be. And that's fine. After you've got a basic overview, you can get the rest referring to the online documentation.

P.S. There is a syntax reference in the end of the book, of course :).

Despite the fact that many books claim to be for everyone from the beginner to the professional this book is one of the few that actually hits the mark. Not content to just dive right into PostgreSQL and how to us it, the authors include a lot of database history and theory that is sadly lacking from similar books. But it is not just for beginners. The authors include more advances sections on things like accessing the database using C, PHP, Perl, Java, and C#.

Between this beginning user and advanced user level the authors fill in all the intermediate parts so the book ends up providing a well-organized education from the principles of database design through database setup, query, ODBC access setup, and using a programming or scripting language to accessing and updating the database. The book also includes detailed information on selection procedures, data manipulation, functions, stored procedures, triggers, and PostgreSQL Administration. As a result you end up with a book where the database theory applies to all relational databases and as it becomes more technical in nature it moves from there to information specific to PostgreSQL for the advanced user, administrator, or programmer. Beginning Databases with PostgreSQL, Second Edition is highly recommended to anyone interested in using this particular SQL engine.

Despite the fact that many books claim to be for everyone from the beginner to the professional this book is one of the few that actually hits the mark. Not content to just dive right into PostgreSQL and how to us it, the authors include a lot of database history and theory that is sadly lacking from similar books. But it is not just for beginners. The authors include more advances sections on things like accessing the database using C, PHP, Perl, Java, and C#.

Between this beginning user and advanced user level the authors fill in all the intermediate parts so the book ends up providing a well-organized education from the principles of database design through database setup, query, ODBC access setup, and using a programming or scripting language to accessing and updating the database. The book also includes detailed information on selection procedures, data manipulation, functions, stored procedures, triggers, and PostgreSQL Administration. As a result you end up with a book where the database theory applies to all relational databases and as it becomes more technical in nature it moves from there to information specific to PostgreSQL for the advanced user, administrator, or programmer. Beginning Databases with PostgreSQL, Second Edition is highly recommended to anyone interested in using this particular SQL engine.

There are some production problems with the book. But overall it's a fine introduction to Postgres. This isn't a general introduction as the title seems to imply. This text, graphics, and examples, all clearly relate to Postgres.

The book is fairly code heavy. With example of the use of Postgres in all of the popular languages. And a hefty amount of SQL examples to learn from and use.

A solid introductory walkthrough for anyone new to, or just starting to use Postgres.

The book serves two audiences. One is those seeking to learn SQL. The other is those wanting to learn Postgresql. Naturally there is some overlap. But consider the first group. There are indeed several good texts on the theory of relational databases and using SQL to access and change these tables. But the books often deal at an abstract level that does not use a specific SQL implementation. Which makes it very hard to learn SQL. As a practical matter, you need to commit to an implementation, even just as a pedagogic decision. Well, as the authors explain, Postgresql is a good choice. It conforms broadly to SQL92 and is free open source. (The only other major free alternative being MySQL.) After all, you typically can't get onto a free copy of Oracle 10g or IBM's dB2 to learn from.

So just from this standpoint, the book gives you a solid learning experience with SQL. Eminently transportable to a job involving a proprietary SQL, like those mentioned above. Of course, those have unique tweaks. But the methods described here are universal to the field.

Now what if you want to actually learn Postgresql? There are chapters on using it from the command line and so on. The book also devotes a chapter each to getting at Postgresql from C, PHP, Perl, Java and C#. Typically, you are unlikely to need all of these chapters. But it shows the flexibility of the database.