OCP Oracle Database 11g: New Features for Administrators Exam Guide (Exam 1Z0-050) (Osborne Oracle Press)

The book is organized fairly well. I haven't taken the test yet, but the content seems structured around what is on the test. However, I agree with the other reviews. Typos abound in this book. There are extra spaces & missing letters. The examples have extra semicolons, parens, & other mistakes. There are a couple of cases where whole paragraphs are repeated in different subsections. The summary sections often contradict the earlier sections of the chapter. Many of the chapter questions are poorly worded & the answers contradict earlier sections in the chapter.

In summary, the book is useful if you use the oracle documentation 2 validate its assertions. It is amazing that a book this poorly edited is released 4 publication. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any other source that is organized 4 the test as well as this book, so I marginally recommend it.

I concede that writing a technical book which is 100% complete & accurate is virtually impossible. However, that does not detract from the author's & technical reviewer's responsibility 2 strive 4 that level of perfection. Especially 4 an exam guide.

I have been taking the OCP DBA exams since Oracle7 & have bought an exam guide every time 2 help me with my studies. This book is by far the worst one I have ever used due 2 its missing content, errors & confused explanations. And I'm barely a third of the way through. Sounds harsh? Here are some examples:

One page 5, it states the default ADR directory is of the form $ORACLE_BASE. WRONG!
It's $ORACLE_BASE/diag. This error is repeated several more times in the book.

Also on page 5, it gives an example of the location 4 trace files 4 a database called orcl2 with an instance name of orcl2. The example given is /u01/app/oracle/diag/rdbms/orcl2/orcl2. That's fine, but it doesn't explain if the first orcl2 is the database name or the instance name.

On page 11, it defines an init parameter called DDL_TIME_LOCKOUT. WRONG!
It's actually called DDL_LOCK_TIMEOUT.

On page 15, point #7 mentions you are offered the choice of listeners 4 the new database you're creating using the DBCA. That's true only if there are some listeners already configured which use that ORACLE_HOME. If there aren't, which is more likely if you've just installed 11g & are creating an 11g database 4 the first time, you get a warning message. This message tells you there are no listeners & that you'll need 2 configure one using Netca in a separate session before you can continue (assuming you want 2 configure Database Control 4 your new database). Thus point #7 is incomplete.

On page 17, it defines some profile resources 4 passwords, including PASSWORD_REUSE_MAX & PASSWORD_REUSE_TIME. The definitions 4 these two are the wrong way around.

That's 5 examples in the first 17 pages! Another reviewer mentioned the author's thanks given 2 April Well 4 her "expert technical vetting" which allowed the author 2 "avoid errors & improve the quality of the presentation". The technical vetting either wasn't done at all or was done in such a hurry that many, many errors, omissions & confused explanations got as far as the publisher. That is wholly unacceptable & in my view Oracle Press should withdraw this edition of the book immediately. What makes it worse is the author, Sam Alapati, is the co-author of the Oracle Database 11g New Features 4 DBAs & Developers book published by Apress. I'm finding the things which are wrong in this exam guide are also wrong in the other book. Unbelievable!

My advice is 2 avoid this book altogether. If you have 2 verify virtually everything you read with Oracle's own documentation, you may as well just read Oracle's documentation. It'll save you time & money. You'll also benefit from the knowledge that what you're reading has actually been proof read by someone with the necessary amount of time & prerequisite level of competence.

I shall be writing 2 Oracle Press 2 demand a refund of my purchase price & a heavy discount or free copy of the second edition. We'll see how seriously they take their customers views & how well they stand behind their publications.

The 'Acknowledgments' section starts thus: "I wish 2 acknowledge the excellent technical editing of the book by April Wells. Thanks 2 April's careful & expert technical vetting, I've been able 2 avoid errors & improve the quality of the presentation."

It's therefore hard 2 know who is most at fault 4 the appalling quality of this book. I wouldn't hire either of them 4 a job that required any attention 2 detail.

I started making a list of errors 2 see whether my initial impression was correct, & I am finding at least one per page on average. Here's a typical example: in a 3-page discussion of Automatic Memory Management starting on p328, there are (by my count) 63 mentions of memory-related parameters; of these, 9 are incorrectly named. And recognising the correct names of parameters is a common exam question!

There are also inconsistencies between different parts of the text, & in the self-test questions & answers, which means that you'll have 2 look up the correct information elsewhere.

Moreover, many of the explanations are extremely woolly & repetitive. For example: "The DBMS_ADDM package contains several 'directive' procedures 2 add specific directives 2 create directives of various kinds."

It's almost as though the publishers have used the first draft by mistake. No doubt the coverage of exam topics is comprehensive (I haven't checked against the syllabus), but the errors & the imprecise explanations make this a book 2 avoid if you want 2 pass the exam.

I cannot believe the author, as an experienced Oracle DBA, provided the following command (here only one bad example from huge other mistakes)to run a pl/sql function!

Chapter 4, page 233.
Using the EVOLVE_SQL_PLAN_BASELINE Function
SQL>exec dbms_spm.evolve_sql_plan_baseline(sql_handle=>'123456789999');

The Correct Command should be:
SET SERVEROUTPUT ON
SET LONG 10000
DECLARE
report clob;
BEGIN
report := DBMS_SPM.EVOLVE_SQL_PLAN_BASELINE(
sql_handle => '123456789999');

DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(report);
END;
/

The other simple misleading errors are the default value of the new parameters. When I read this book, I have 2 compare the related contents with Oracle manuals 4 11g.

This book should be called back!

I'm about half way through the book & am amazed by all the typing mistakes in the book. Most are so obvious & some can cause some confusion 2 readers. Hopefully the publisher releases errata [...]. The actual content seems 2 be ok & has provided me enough information 2 research on my own. Hope there is a second edition & hopefully it's better...