MySQL Certification Study Guide

By Peter Hicks

If you"ve already had experience of MySQL and want to learn more and become certified, the MySQL Certification Study Guide is most certainly for you. It takes a refreshing path up the sometimes difficult learning curve of MySQL with plenty of well-thought out, clear examples.

The book starts with a helpful and friendly introduction, running through the exam which sets the reader"s mind firmly on the outcome and aims to reassure and inform. It goes on to provide background on MySQL and the aims of company, MySQL AB.

The section on MySQL Core Values is particularly refreshing as it reassures the reader of the aims of MySQL AB and reinforces the belief that there are software companies out there who take a fresher view than most of how software should be written and used.

Topics dealt with over the course of the 600+ pages include the Data Definition Language, basic SQL (including a useful section on JOINs), MySQL architecture, security, optimization and advanced server features. Having come from a "power user" background rather than a DBA, a great deal of information in the book was exceedingly useful.

A fairly hefty section on the Data Definition Language is rounded off with an abundance of over 100 questions, which appear daunting at first - the exam requires candidates to interpret SQL table structures throughout, and without thorough understanding, interpreting the exam questions would be taxing.

The SQL JOIN function is given about 40 pages with plenty of clear examples which make sense, however the real test of understanding is trying the techniques out on one's own data.

Where MySQL lacks certain functions such as transactional support and subqueries, sections of the book provide working examples on MySQL's way of doing things. The documentation is terse on subqueries, but the book dedicates three pages with examples to this sometimes tricky area.

Each chapter ends with a set of questions and answers on topics discussed, and I found it particularly useful to question my knowledge and re-read sections that I maybe missed or needed amplified. The learn-and-question sequence encourages the reader to fully read the book as opposed to skimming through and making copious notes.

The book is generous with examples, each chosen for its clarity in a subject area, in contrast to other books" relentless continuation of the author's pet theme. I found it useful to experiment with my own versions of the examples, choosing to mirror concepts in the book with my own data which I could mentally relate with.

The only subject of which I didn't find explicit coverage was troubleshooting - however after reading the book and with my experience of MySQL, I felt confident enough to attempt to troubleshoot.

This book was an enjoyable read, and I found it best not to read cover-to-cover and to instead treat it as a knowledge smorgasbord, picking tasty morsels of information and spending time enjoying the learning process.

For somebody who has never used MySQL, this book wouldn't give enough hand-holding to build up confidence and knowledge levels, but to a semi-experienced engineer such as this author, it gives a run-down and explanation of commands and techniques that I"ve either missed or never had reason to use.

About the Author

I work for a multinational media company, supervising, maintaining and performing a technical management function for the worldwide data network. I started using MySQL some five years ago whilst an "SQL newbie" and quickly used the server to organize a growing mountain of reporting data. Outside work, I enjoy traveling (never spending too long in any one place), listening to my very varied music collection, and sleeping.

See other reviews