Re: [pgsql-advocacy] Is my MySQL Gaining ?

--- Bret Busby <bret(at)busby(dot)net> wrote:
> On Mon, 29 Dec 2003, Jeff Eckermann wrote:
>
> >
> > Isn't this what books are supposed to be for? i.e.
> to
> > fill in the gaps or provide the coverage, tips,
> howtos
> > etc. etc. that no-one really expects formal
> > documentation to cover. There are quite a few
> good
> > books out there, including two accessible online,
> with
> > links from the www.postgresql.org page (that must
> have
> > been modesty on your part ;-) ). Bruce's book,
> even
> > referring to an outdated version of PostgreSQL,
> still
> > gives a pretty good introduction for an SQL newbie
> in
> > how to get started.
> >
> > We have plenty of good stuff already out there,
> the
> > issue here appears to be more one of presentation
> and
> > organization.
> >
> >
>
> But, do these things have set exercises, relevant to
> the material, to
> ensure the reader understands the material?
>
> It is one thing to present a worked example, but,
> without getting a
> student to perform an exercise "create a database
> named supermarket,
> with tables groceryline and socklevel and itemprice,
> input 100 stock
> lines of varying stock levels, and of varying
> values, then create a
> report of the total value of the stock, and a report
> listing the stock
> lines with an item value over $5.00, and the total
> value of stock with
> item prices over $5.00", to show whether the student
> actually
> understands what to do, and how to do it, so the
> student can realise
> whether the student needs to go back and cover the
> material again, or
> whether the student can move on.
>
> To give a person knowledge, increases the person's
> memorised
> information; to require the person to use the
> knowledge, makes the
> person learn, and increases the person's skills.
>
> That is why I have repeatedly referred to the need
> for a "Teach Yourself
> PostgreSQL in 21 Days" book, to have such exercises,
> etc.
>

My post was more a response to the suggestion that the
core docs should be expanded to encompass more "howto"
stuff. You are right, there is a need for some self
learning tool (speaking as someone who is almost
entirely self taught on PostgreSQL and computing in
general), and I am not aware of any existing book
which addresses that need.

A problem is that much of what a newbie needs to learn
is not PostgreSQL specific, much of it comes down to
generic SQL and RDBMS functionality. Should we try to
replicate the existing masses of material on that?
For example, I first learned SQL from the "SQL in 21
Days" book, which gave a good general introduction,
almost all of it directly applicable to PostgreSQL. I
even found the introduction to Oracle pl/sql to be
valuable as a quick start on pl/pgsql.

Maybe we need some more suggestions from people about
what they would have liked to have had when they first
got started with PostgreSQL, and get some ideas from
that. I was happy with the existing resources, but I
am not most people.

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