In the run up to my 'Core' MySQL exam I believed I could survive on exisitng material (the online mannual and other books). However I purchased this book thinking it would be a good decision and was glad I did.

Firstly, there are many options and arguments for commands/utilities and the book points you in the right direction for exam relevancy, e.g For utility X, options, Y and Z are important.

Secondly, the exam questions at the end of each chapter are excellent. They are a genuine test and challenge of your Mysql knowledge.

(...). It has also pointed out that perhaps the exam questions in the book should be multiple-choice, however as per the 'candidate guide', exam questions may appear as text box's for you to enter commands.

Overall, this book which was an essential purchase for me and without it I would not have passed the challenging exam.

N.B The book is split in two parts, the 'Core' certification and the 'Proffesional' certification. I took the 'Core' exam which is the first half of the book. I have not yet read the second part.

No sample data !!

Rating: 1/5

I'm giving this book just 1 star because there is no sample data available. I like MySQL and like the idea of open source but this is a stange inconsistancy. I doesn't make sense. Two thumbs down!!

Essential book to prepare for the exams

Rating: 4/5

I found this an absolutely essential book to prepare for the exams, if only for the fact that it tells you exactly what topics are covered in the exams.

I think few people know everything there is to know about MySQL. I find that I'm very good at some parts of MySQL, particularly things I do everyday. Other things, which I rarely (or never) do, I could use improvement. In that case, this book is not a good teaching book. So I turned to another book, Sams' "Teach Yourself MySQL in 21 Days" to cover subject matter I need work on.

My only complaints are:
1) The questions at the end of each chapter should be multiple-choice, as the exams are.
2) The book should have come with a CD with the sample data used in the book. That would have saved time, having to manually recreate the data examples.