MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-431): Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Implementation and Maintenance (Pro-Certification)

Customer Rating:
Summary: SQL Server Basics
Comment: I work with SQL on a daily basis, mostly running queries. I needed a book to fill in all of the holes since I was self taught. This book is a great start at filling in the gaps. It covers everything from the different versions to understanding the design of full-text catalogs. There is also some good material on queries. Great book even if you are not going for a SQL cert.

Customer Rating:
Summary: As Advertised
Comment: This is exactly what you need to study for this test. As it is published by Microsoft, it give you the ability to "think" like Microsoft which is what is needed when taking the test for the MCTS certification in SQL. The test on the CD gives you a chance to find out how much you know and also prepares you for the demanding cert exam.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Good book, but ditch the practice exam
Comment: This thick, hefty book is very thorough and covers MOST of the bases you'll need for the 70-431 exam. There are still some useful details from the SQL Books Online (SQL Server's "help" files) that you should know, but this book gives a good starting point. Reading through each chapter thoroughly and doing every practice lesson will put you well on the road for success at the exam.

Where this book fails completely is the practice test that comes on CD with the book. The questions were very poorly written (sometimes missing vital information required to even discern what area of SQL server the question is supposed to be addressing) and were very dissimilar to the questions on the actual exam.

If you're looking for useful practice for the exam, use another book (like ExamCram) or buy a worthwhile practice test. Or, just take the test itself as practice - it's almost the same price as some of the practice exams on the web. But don't rely on the practice exam in this book - it's a terrible gauge of what the real deal is like.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Extra Content
Comment: I passed the 70-431 Exam using this book and a few others. I really like Murach's stuff better though.

Philip
www.SQLDataBasics.com



Customer Rating:
Summary: not a good book to use for a job
Comment: I had to use this book for a class. It has many mistakes and the quizzes at the end of the chapters ask questions that weren't even covered. Everyone in my class including the instructor agreed that this was not a good book. It either barely discusses or doesn't even cover things that the quizzes ask you about. I am going to find another book to study from before I even think about taking the test. The labs were terrible also, some of them couldn't even be completed as set up by the book. I wouldn't even waste my money on this.