Reviews for Inside SQL Server 2005: The Storage Engine (Solid Quality Learning)

1. A very interesting read

   Rated 4 out of 5 stars, December 12th, 2009

   This book is full of detailed information about the storage engine and does a good job of detailing the internals. I learnt quite a bit about SQL Server by reading it - some things expanded my knowledge and some things were completely new to me. The writing style is fairly informal which makes it (relatively!) easy to read cover-to-cover. It keeps to it's topic quite firmly and doesn't stray much. As well as being a very informative read, I think it will serve as a great reference in the future. I'm very happy with my purchase and am looking forward to reading the other three volumes in the series.
   
   The main negative that I found is the large number of errors in the book. None are serious (mainly typos and a couple of unreplaced placeholders) but I found they erroded my confidence a little when trying to understand some complex example or heavily technical explanation. It made the book feel more like a late draft rather than the finished article, and is the only reason I didn't give it five stars.

2. Kalen Delaney triumphs again

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, May 12th, 2007

   Kalen Delaney triumphs again with another great book in the Inside SQL Server series (a series that no DBA or developer should be without) however this time the book has been spilt into 4 volumes in which she writes 2 of them. The other 2 are written by Itzik Ben-Gan.
   
   
   "The Storage Engine" covers the Architecture, Configuration, Databases (and Databases files), Logging and Recovery, Tables, index internals (and management), locking and concurrency.
   
   
   Just like her other books, it is clearly written, with good use of diagrams and code (and results, so you don't have to run all the code in the book to see what Kalen is talking about).
   
   
   Room or no room, make space for this one on your shelf. A book not to be missed.
   
   

3. "Another great book by Kalen Delaney"

   Rated 4 out of 5 stars, January 12nd, 2007

   This is another great book by Kalen Delaney, and a worthy addition to the Inside Microsoft SQL Server Series.
   The only reason this book doesn't get 5 stars is down to price. Whereas 2000 was crammed into a single Inside SQL Server volume, 2005 is now spread across four.. ..yes there is both extra detail and more content to cover, but having purchased this book and flicked through a friends copy of the other two currently published books, I can't help thinking two books would have been enough.. ..to purchase all four volumes of the 2005 installment of the series really does seem a bit too pricey..

4. Inside SQL Server: The Storage Engine

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, November 12th, 2006

   The only other book I have ever pre-ordered was Harry Potter! Although this may have limited appeal to 8 year olds, it has certainly reached and surpassed the level of anticipation I had.
   
   Like it's predecessor this book is a must buy for any SQL Server DBA or Developer who requires more than a basic knowledge of the way things work (unfortunately there are no mammoths!).
   
   A very well written book that is very readable, whether you delve into it for reference or read it from cover to cover. It contains information of the highest level that can only be garnered by Kalen's unique relationship with the developers who designed and wrote the code.