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MySQL 5.1 Cluster Certification Study Guide
Today I received the "MySQL 5.1 Cluster Certification Study Guide".
I will compare this book to the "MySQL 5.0 Certification Study Guide" from MySQL Press. This is the book I used to study for the MCDEV (Certified Developer) and MCDBA (Certified DBA) exams.
The MySQL study guide was published by MySQL Press which is a cooperation with a n old-school publisher.
The MySQL cluster study guide is published by Lulu.com which is an online on-demand publisher.
Lulu.com Cons:
1. The print quality is worse.
2. The paper is less white.
3. The layout is more compact. The margins are really small.
Lulu.com Pros:
1. On-demand print. This will make updated versions possible.
2. The book is smaller (small margins) and is very easy to carry with you (handy if your studying in the train to work and such)
3. Lulu.com webchat rocks. There were some troubles with ordering. My paypal account had to be verified, which can't be done directly; So after I ordered I decided that I wanted to use my creditcard for this order. The lulu.com website didn't have a "switch payment method for already ordered products"-option nor did it have a "cancel this order, so I can resubmit"-option. The webchat support option worked great, the order was quickly resubmitted :)
4. The price is good. This together with the dollar to euro rate makes it really cheap.
The contents of the book look like really good study material. It will even be good reference material for people who are already using MySQL Cluster.
You can order the book on lulu.com: http://www.lulu.com/content/1297960
And here you can order the prerequisite: http://mysql.com/certification/studyguid
I will compare this book to the "MySQL 5.0 Certification Study Guide" from MySQL Press. This is the book I used to study for the MCDEV (Certified Developer) and MCDBA (Certified DBA) exams.
The MySQL study guide was published by MySQL Press which is a cooperation with a n old-school publisher.
The MySQL cluster study guide is published by Lulu.com which is an online on-demand publisher.
Lulu.com Cons:
1. The print quality is worse.
2. The paper is less white.
3. The layout is more compact. The margins are really small.
Lulu.com Pros:
1. On-demand print. This will make updated versions possible.
2. The book is smaller (small margins) and is very easy to carry with you (handy if your studying in the train to work and such)
3. Lulu.com webchat rocks. There were some troubles with ordering. My paypal account had to be verified, which can't be done directly; So after I ordered I decided that I wanted to use my creditcard for this order. The lulu.com website didn't have a "switch payment method for already ordered products"-option nor did it have a "cancel this order, so I can resubmit"-option. The webchat support option worked great, the order was quickly resubmitted :)4. The price is good. This together with the dollar to euro rate makes it really cheap.
The contents of the book look like really good study material. It will even be good reference material for people who are already using MySQL Cluster.
You can order the book on lulu.com: http://www.lulu.com/content/1297960
And here you can order the prerequisite: http://mysql.com/certification/studyguid
(Anonymous)
Not all of that is Lulu's fault
I'm glad you like the book! And I agree that Lulu's chat-service really rocks (and more than makes up for a few usability-deficiencies on their site).
With regard to the layout and margins, this is not Lulu's choice but a conscious choice of mine when we sent the book to be published. In on-demand printing, the cost of the book is linked directly to the number of pages ("traditional" publishing isn't affected as directly by the page count). We wanted to squeeze the price as much as possible, this is why we chose this particular layout.
On print quality: I agree that the graphics could be nicer, but again you'll have to blame the authors (and the project manager) -- Lulu could only do so much with the material that we delivered.
I received my own copy a few weeks ago; on the whole and with an eye to what was delivered, I was more than satisfied with the quality of the "craftmanship" employed by lulu.
/ Carsten -- ex-certification mgr @ MySQL & one of several project leads on the book.