Rating:  - Disappointing
I originally really liked the idea of comparing database design to the ancient "Art of War" classic, but the more I read the book, the more annoying and overly cute this tactic became.
Amongst all the verbiage there appears to be really useful information, but extracting that information became too much work for me and I gave up on this book. And there were almost no concrete examples or case studies to back anything up.
So far the most important book I've read is Sql Tuning by Dan Tow. It takes some work, but it is very, very worth it. Try that one instead.
Rating:  - Exceptional SQL Performance Book
'The Art of SQL' by Stephane Faroult is an outstanding book for any and all database developers that want to learn how to write better SQL code and make their database efficiency go UP UP UP!! Encompassing 300+ pages, this well-written and advanced book goes way past the basics of writing SELECT and INSERT statements, taking things to the next level and then some!!
Chapter Overview
01. Designing Databases for Performance
02. Accessing Databases Efficiently
03. Indexing
04. Thinking SQL Statements
05. Understanding Physical Implementation
06. Recognizing Classic SQL Patterns
07. Dealing with Hierarchical Data
08. Recognizing and Handling Difficult Cases
09. Tackling Concurrency
10. Coping with Large Volumes of Data
11. Trying to Salvage Response Times
12. Monitoring Performance
Just reading the overview, you can easily get a sense that this is a well-rounded book that will hit upon all aspects of your database experience. You will easily get something out of this wonderful text and learn to write queries and joins that not only work, but work BETTER than ever before!!
***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Rating: - Most Unusual Technical Book
Imagine a cookbook with no recipes but after you read it it helps to become a better cook. This book does not specifically tells what to do. It does not have codes or technical jargon. It gives you an understanding. The book reads well, it is not full of technical references but it is not to say this book is for someone who does not know the workings of a DBMS. The author draws a relevant parallel between designing a database and waging a war. I enjoyed the quotes thoughtfully peppered in the book. Do me a favor and do not get it...in case we are going after the same job
Rating: - This is your graduate level course in SQL - how and why
Probably most database solution developers and DBAs have picked up their knowledge of the subject as they have needed it, rather than in a formal and structured (so to speak) method. And even those that have had a structured education probably learned a lot more while in the field. And so there are always gaps. Gaps in technique, but also gaps in the why of many things that I, for example, took for granted about large DBMS's and SQL.
This book handily fills in those gaps. It assumes a moderate to advanced foundation in SQL and DBMS, and then takes off from there.
It is mostly prose with some code and SQL sprinkled throughout, but if you have a foundation, you can flesh out the technique. It is like listening to a graduate level lecture. It is distilled wisdom more than How To, and the more you bring to the material, the more you will get from it. And every page is rich with information. I don't feel like I have wasted my time on any one page, as I often do in the how to manuals.
Definitely an advanced piece.
Rating: - VERY VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
Are you a developer or software architect? If you are, then this book is for you! Authors Stephane Faroult and Peter Robson, have done an outstanding job of writing a book that shows people who are no longer novices how to write good SQL code from the start and, most importantly, to have a view of SQL code that goes beyond individual SQL statements.
Faroult and Robson, begin by examining how to design databases for performance. Then, the authors explain how programs must be designed to access databases efficiently. Next, the authors tell you why and how to index. The authors then explain how to envision SQL statements. They continue by showing you how physical implementation impacts performance. Then, the authors cover classic SQL patterns and how to approach them. They then explain how to deal with hierarchical data. Next, they provide indications about how to recognize and handle some difficult cases. Then, they describe how to face concurrency. Next, the authors address how to cope with large volumes of data. They continue by offering a few tricks that will help you survive rotten database designs. Finally, the authors conclude the book by explaining how to define and monitor performance.
This most excellent book is not a cookbook, listing problems and giving recipes. Rather, its aim is much more to help developers and their managers, to raise good questions.
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