PL

This book is very well structured and easy to learn from. The content is easy to read, good examples and very referenceable.

I highly recommend this book. The only issue is its availability, I find it hard to believe that the publishers have not cashed in on this book (did n't republish - currently out of print) as it is a real winner and a gem to have.

Listed below are the chapters.

1. PL/SQL At A Glance
2. Writing Simple Routines
3. Program Flow Control
4. Accessing the Database
5. Complex Datatypes
6. Creating Programs
7. Using Object Types
8. PL/SQL In Different Environments
9. PL/SQL And Application Performance
10. PL/SQL Fundamentals
11. Blocks, Stored Programs, Packages, Database Triggers And Stored Types
12. Declarations
13. Procedural Constructs
14. Built In Functions
15. Oracle 8 Supplied Packages
16. Extended SQL And PL/SQL Support
17. External File I/O And Background Job Control
18. Support of LOB Datatypes
19. Event Notification And Intersession Communication Support
20. Advanced Queuing Support
21. Miscellaneous Packages

This book takes you through some really great examples and includes everything you need to know about PL/SQL. I use it as a reference all day long when writing my code.

Book contained excellent examples; I have read several PL/SQL books and found this one very insightful especially for developers. You will be able to tell that the authors are bonafide developers relating real experiences; they not only explain the technical issues but how they applied in the real-world applications - highly recommended for serious developers.

This book is utilized as a standard reference guide within our PL/I programming group. It doubles as a training reference for new PL/I programmers and as a general desk reference for programmers with more advanced PL/I programming skills. The overall content is well organized and easy to use.

Ashame something corresponding to Hughes book hasn't been written for Cobol (Stern & Stern is wordy and long in comparison). Robin Vowel's book compliments Hughe's book for a variety of algorithms and none-MVS platforms (emphasizing certain PL/I facilities well).

I needed a reference manual for PL/I and decided to go for this book. It is very good if you are new to the language or are trying to remember what a particular function does. It even has separate sections at the back of the book for ASCII and EBCDIC tables, how the different PL/I data formats are stored in records, and a good summary at the back showing which functions are supported by the various PL/I compilers and subsets. It is not a the cheapest (hardback) book on PL/I but is well worth the investment.

"Sky Kings" was one of the new books at the 1999 convention of the North American Society on Sports History. The Kentucky Public Libraries named it to their Suggested Reading List. Researchers at the Schomburg Research Center in Harlem, the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., and the Association for Professional Basketball Research in Phoenix have all found the material useful and entertaining.

LOVE THE FRESH INSIGHT ,RARE PHOTOS,GREAT GIFT IDEA FOR TRIVIA MATERIAL, YOUNG FANS, OR HISTORIANS

IF YOU LOVE NBA OR GLOBETROTTER FOLKLORE, READ IT

I do believe this book was very wonderful. I liked this book. It was an absolutely fabulous mystery. Plus you just have to love Bushyhead. I liked all the many twists in the plot. The whole lesbian affair was very surprising. I loved it! Go Bushyhead! Go Jean Hager!

Arnett Walsh, an Oklahoma Wildlife Officer, is found dead in a nearby cave. The corpse was found by the daughter of the chief of the police and her friends. The police chief Mitch Bushyhead begins to investigate the murder.

Mitch quickly learns that the deceased was investigating the recent slaughter of bald eagles, animals under the protection of the Feds as an endangered species. Mitch soon has a prime suspect, the high school principal Vian Brasfield. The educator has been a major sponsor of Native American eagle dances, a type of performance that requires eagle feathers. However, Vian has vanished; his only enemy is Dane Kennedy, a political extremist and racist. It is up to Mitch to keep digging until he uncovers the truth behind the Walsh murder and the Brasfield disappearance.

MASKED DANCERS is the fifth Bushyhead mystery and, like its precursors, this is an appealing novel that is propelled forward by glimpses into the modern day Cherokee culture. Mitch is a phenomenal lead character and the support cast, especially his child Emily, addd much humanism to the tale. However, it is the brilliantly described clash between Federal statute and native custom that turns Jean Hager's latest book into a blockbuster of book.

Harriet Klausner

With this book Rick Telander has captured the sociology of inner-city basketball. These kids do not see basketball as merely a sport but as a means to an end. It is a ticket to a better way of life that can become an obsession for some (such as Clavin Franks). In this book Telander points out all that is good about basketball and some of the bad. This book should be read by all basketball fans, especially those who dream of playing in the NBA. If you liked this book you should also check out the movie "Soul in the Hole." It is a movie about Brooklyn playground legend Edward "Booger" Smith.

possibly the best book I've ever read. It provides a rarely seen insight into the world of city basketball. Definetly a "must read"!

I've read a few really good books on basketball -- David Wolf's "Foul," and John Feinstein's "A Season on the Brink" immediately come to mind -- but Rick Telander's "Heaven Is a Playground" is the best, for my money. This book captures not only the spirit of the game, but also vividly recreates a time (the mid-70s) and a place (Brooklyn).

Telander was in his 20s in 1974 when he went to Brooklyn to spend a summer, in part because he was in search of the elusive playground legend James "Fly" Williams, who figures prominently in the book. During the course of the three months he was there, however, he met, played with, interviewed and befriended a host of regulars at the courts in Foster Park in the Flatbush section of the borough. They were African-American boys and men for whom basketball was far more than recreation. For many of them, the game was a way of life and even more importantly a form of self-expression.

Besides Williams, Telander also met Albert King, then an astonishingly gifted 14-year-old, who was to go on to a successful NBA career. Telander brings to life the court skills of King and others, but he humanizes them, and this is where the great strength of the book lies. For example, King agonized over his talent, which brought him attention and adulation that embarrassed him and sometimes made him angry and withdrawn. Williams' incredible pure talent was married to an unpredictable and sometimes violent temperament that ultimately shortened his career.

Despite an obvious empathy for his subjects -- he wound up coaching a group of teenage park regulars, with mixed on-the-court success -- Telander does not romanticize them. Flatbush, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brownsville, where the action of the book primarily takes place, were poverty-stricken, crime-ridden places. Many of the people Telander spent extensive time with were scarred by their environment, and he does not try to hide that. Though the book is refreshingly free of a sense of "white guilt," Telander does agonize at one point over a boy he left off his team who succumbed to drug use and was later killed.

At times funny, often poignant, and filled with a love for its subject, "Heaven Is a Playground" remains an engrossing, and still timely, read nearly 30 years after its publication.

If you haven't read the Finder's Stone Trilogy, do so. This is excellent Fantasy writing. Novak and Grubb are able to suck the reader into the story.

It's hard to say whether Wyvern's Spur was the best of the three books, they were all so good. You will not be disappointed in reading this book.

What can I say? This book is a shining example of good fiction writing. Good plot, good characters, good pacing and a wonderful change of pace from the traditional trilogy formula of having the main characters in book #1 in dire trouble. I am disappointed however, that the only other novel that I have seen with Giogi and Cat in it has been Ed Greenwood's Cormyr (an excellent book in its own right). Highly recommended along with the two other books in this trilogy.

It appears to be that several TSR writers are themselves readers of the works of PG Wodehouse. If so, I'm very very thankful. I feel it is a pity that Giogini Wyvernspur only appears as the main character in only 1 novel. The realms need more stories with this type of clean yet side-splitting humour.

This book should be standard for computer programming language books. I have gone to several times and it has never failed me. It has very clear explanations and examples which almost write out the code for you. I carry it everywhere. It is the sole Oracle PL/SQL programming reference I use.

THIS BOOK IS A MUST FOR ALL PL/SQL PROGRAMMERS. THE EXPLANATIONS ARE VERY BRIEF AND EASY TO UNDERSTAND, AND THE EXAMPLES ARE VERY CLEAR TO GRASP THE MEANING OF..WITH THIS BOOK, I GET TO HAVE CONFIDENCE IN PL/SQL WHICH I THOUGHT WAS HARD TO MASTER. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK..

I bought this book as a complete Oracle novice, transitioning from Microsoft T-SQL to PL/SQL. I was worried about the transition being difficult until I read this book.

It is one of those very rare books that presents advanced concepts in a context understandable by users of all experience levels. The author often throws in tips about Oracle PL/SQL quirks to watch out for, as well as some very applicable information about how Oracle works internally.

I've since become more comfortable with PL/SQL, and the book also serves as a great reference. I highly encourage you to read this book straight through.

I recommend this well-written book to anybody wanting to learn PL/SQL, as well as anyone needing a great reference.

As an avid reader of Sci-Fi/Fantasy, and a long-time fan of such authors as Tolkien, Bova, and LeGuin, you can well imagine my initial reaction when a friend recommended these books to me. The role-playing section of my local bookstore wasn't one I was in the habit of visiting (even though I did play Dungeons & Dragons as a teen). I always assumed that the TSR books were nothing more than pulp, not worthy of a second glance.

Boy, was I wrong. Salvatore effectively uses TSR's Forgotten Realms world as a backdrop for a story that is as unique as it is readable. He creates a society whose members thrive on evil, and breathes life into his creation like a dark god. If you've ever played D&D, and want to know exactly what the term "Lawful Evil" means, look no further for an explanation. Salvatore's antagonist characters are truly despicable, and lend a great deal to the Drow society's plausibility.

Throughout the series, Salvatore brings to light many social and moral issues that easily translate to real life, while keeping the pace of the read fast with breath-taking swordplay and action scenes that will have you running around your kitchen with a broom handle (assuming you don't have a scimitar lying about...).

All in all, a HIGHLY recommended read for anyone who enjoys the fantasy genre.

R.A. Salvatore here brings his superb "Dark Elf Trilogy" to a close. This novel is without a doubt the best of the series. This novel is different from "Homeland" and "Exile" in that it takes place out of the Underdark, on the surface of the world. Because of this Salvatore's writing is explored in a new way as he describes the nature and surroundings around the main character, Drizzt Do'Urden, where in the first two books of the series Salvatore's descriptions were not as used as they were in this novel.

Drizzt has reached the world beyond the Underdark, which turns out to be an interesting place for Drizzt. From the beginning of the book when Drizzt is spotted he is thought to be a villain with the intention of making the world a bad place. Drizzt is accused as the murderer of a whole family and is being chased by a ranger, Roddy McGristle. Meanwhile, the orcs are considering Drizzt a threat and are about to make war against him. While Drizzt is out in the wild of the worlds he meets Montolio (or Mooshie) who is a ranger. Montolio teaches Drizzt history and skills to survive in the world and shows Drizzt how he is really a ranger. Montolio is a great friend and advisor. Together Drizzt and Montolio battle an army of orcs. This is not the end of the story as there is much to be told by Salvatore, but I won't tell you about that; go ahead and read the book.

This book is not a clone of J.R.R. Tolkien's works as it offers an original plot and great characters. This book does, however, include many of fantasy's creatures, such as orcs, goblins, dwarves, giants, and much more. You get the idea. This didn't bother me, though, as all of the creatures took on interesting characters.

Not many trilogies in the fantasy genre have kept me as entertained, as moved, and full of wonder as R.A. Salvatore's "Dark Elf Trilogy." To get the full impact of the story that is told here I advise you to go ahead and read the first two books of this trilogy before getting on to this one. This is a fantasy novel to read over and over again.

Happy Reading!

Running from the party of surface elves hunting him down to see who and what he really is, Drizzt Do'Urden, and his trusty friend Guenhwyvar enjoy their journey, and protect each other from every bad creature that crosses their path. Many people had heard about this drow, but haven't seen him until he comes down to the towns to see what the surface world is really like.
I think that R.A. Salvatore is a great author who wrote an amazing story about a drow elf going on a journey in his book Sojourn. It was a great story which pulled me in with practically every paragraph. It also put a great picture in my mind as it explained what things looked like. For example: he explained what a 'hook horror' looked like, by explaining the feeling of its armor, and the weight of its body. My favorite part in his book was when Drizzt went to avenge a human family's death. He never knew this family very well, and they thought him to be a threat, but Drizzt knew not to hurt them. He tried to protect them from everything, until a demon finally came and killed them all, which made Drizzt very angry.
Drizzt Do'Urden starts up in the middle of his adventure, standing on the surface of the world. He fights to protect himself, and other surface creatures such as elves, humans, and dwarfs from creatures that shouldn't be there. During his adventures he meets many friends that saved him from the surface by teaching him things he didn't know. Drizzt went through a few hardships, and he finally began to realize who he was.
I think Sojourn was a great story, because it gave specific reasons to why Drizzt is such a good drow elf. It made me want to help other people and animals, and it also inspired me to go out and find some animals and make them my friends.

O'Reilly simply has the best PL/SQL reference library on the market. This collection of 7 books on CD, along with soft-cover book "Guide to Oracle 8i Features" is the PL/SQL reference standard. Having some previous experience with a couple of the books on the CD, particularly with Steve Feuerstein's work, I found the writing to be clear, insightful and very readable. The programming comments and suggestions are right on the mark. What I also enjoyed was the price, which represents a significant savings over the list cost of the individual books in the bookshelf.

When I first started looking at the CD, I wondered how I would best make use of this reference. I tried reading it on my monitor, starting on the first page and continuing on from there, but after awhile I realized that wasn't going to work. I then started playing with the text searching capabilities provided on the CD. What I found is that O'Reilly has done a very nice job of first indexing and then implementing electronic searches. I am now using the CD exclusively as a reference via this search. Although I didn't know it then, I now believe that is the best way to use the reference if you have some prior knowledge of PL/SQL. I now keep the CD at work, consulting it whenever I need to refresh my memory on how best to write PL/SQL. If you have no prior experience with PL/SQL or you don't like reading books on-line, consider just purchasing the soft-cover components of the bookshelf. However, if you are like me and have some experience in the area, this bookshelf is an indispensable part of the Oracle reference library.

One last thought. Although the bookshelf is great, I do have a problem with it. The collection is dated. The CD covers PL/SQL through to version 8.0 of the Oracle RDBMS. A soft-cover book, included in the distribution but not on the CD, includes new features provided with Oracle 8i. That leaves a sizable hole in that PL/SQL features introduced with Oracle 9i are not discussed. I suspect that even as I write this Steve Feuerstein et. al. are hard at work filling that void. In the meantime this collection is the best PL/SQL reference for Oracle 8i.

This a great all-inclusive resource for Oracle SQL developers. Though focusing on 8i and not on the newer 9i, the concepts are still helpful. Suitable for intermediate and advanced developers.

This CD Bookshelf is an excellent resource for PL/SQL and Oracle Database Developers. It contains 7 books which offer valuable information on PL/SQL programming. The collection of books cover basic to advanced PL/SQL programming topics. Beginners and advanced PL/SQL Developers will find this a good reference to add to their library collection. The Oracle PL/SQL Programming, 2nd Edition book on the PL/SQL CD Bookshelf provides indepth information on the fundamentals of PL/SQL. For more advanced developers the Advanced Oracle PL/SQL Programming with Packages is an excellent resource. Other books on the PL/SQL CD Bookshelf are equally useful and valuable. The PL/SQL CD Bookshelf is a great resource kit to have in my collection!

Having spent a lot of time looking for information on imaginative & fun (and sometimes luxury) travel with kids, I can tell you that this is a really unique book. It is comprehensive, carefully researched and well written with loads of practical tips. Some 'travel with kids' books might as well just be bland advertising copy, this one really provides good editorial content, with positive and critical comments. It is a pleasure to read and we will use it for a long time. Fodor's should publish more of these for other parts of the US/world.

I loved this book and would recommend it to any family wanting to travel in the northeastern United States. The writers offer tips and reviews on places of interest, resorts, and campgrounds in a wide range of prices. In fact, we have visited some of those places and found a brand new vacation prospect in Lake George which we will be trying out this summer! Definitely one of the most informative travel books on the market today -- entertaining even if you do not go to these places.

I've been searching for a book like this for several years and haven't found one that fit the bill until now! I had a great time reading it - so well written - and got more useful information than I'll ever be able to use in one lifetime! Thanks so much to the writers and publishers!