The relational model in depth

I agree with most of the reviewers of this book in that there is much more theory than practice contained within its pages. I'd just like to add two things. 1) The book now has me thinking in sets, which has helped me to understand how to build better queries. 2) Some of the reviewers are correct in saying that NULLs are here to stay, at least for a while. They can be a pain to deal with, especially when you start bringing your data back into an application's data layer and business object layer. Having said that, the book has me focusing on ways to not use NULLs when I am designing a database. Because, sometimes NULLs can just be easier on database design when really there is a better way.

I suppose I mention this as the practical information I took away from this theoretical book.

Anyway, the writing style of Database in Depth is very easy to stomach. I enjoyed that there were exercises to get the brain thinking more on the subject matter.

Other Reviews

• C.J.Date Database in Depth
• forget this and just get SQL and Relational Theory
• The relational model in depth
• Theory without practice
• Grumpy theory