Reviewed by David O'Meara, December 2005
(9 of 10)
My requirements for this book for quite light, so I can't say that I used it to its full potential, but I can say that it filled my requirements completely, and it clearly has so much more ready and waiting to show me in the future.
Ranging from first steps with MySQL all the way up to the advanced features, 'definitive' is a good description for the book. I've always found that there are great MySQL resources on the web, but the layout of the book, clear descriptions and concise examples will give you a single location and unified view of anything you'll need.
There isn't really any point mentioning individual sections. Readers experienced with other databases will find coverage for all of the sections they expect, and likewise new users will be provided the information they require. This is one of the few books I've seen that works for both picking up a new topic and as a reference for flipping to a specific section.
I was a little concerned that it was written in another language and translated to English for this copy, but apart from some of the sample data in the examples this is never an issue.
You won't find a better MySQL resource than "The Definitive Guide to MySQL"... until the next revision comes out!
(9 of 10)
