Book recommendation, was Re: [HACKERS] Safe/Fast I/O ...

> If you are interested in what is necessary, I highly recommend the book
> "Transaction Processing" by Jim Gray (and someone whose name escapes me
> just now). It is a great big thing and will take a while to get through, but
> is is decently written and very well worth the time. It pretty much gives
> away the whole candy store as far as building high performance, reliable,
> and scalable database and TP systems. I wish it had been available 10
> years ago when I got into the DB game.

David is 100% correct here.  We need major overhaul.

He is also 100% correct about the book he is recommending.  I got it
last week, and was going to make a big pitch for this, but now that he
has mentioned it again, let me support it.  His quote:

    It pretty much gives away the whole candy store...

is right on the mark.  This book is big, and meaty.  Date has it listed
in his bibliography, and says:

If any computer science text ever deserved the epithet "instant
classic," it is surely this one.  Its size is daunting at first(over
1000 pages), but the authors display an enviable lightness of touch that
makes even the driest aspects of the subject enjoyable reading.  In
their preface, they state their intent as being "to help...solve real
problems";  the book is "pragmatic, covering basic transaction issues in
considerable detail"; and the presentation "is full of code fragments
showing...basic algorithm and data structures" and is not
"encyclopedic."  Despite this last claim, the book is (not surprisingly)
comprehensive, and is surely destined to become the standard work.
Strongly recommended.

What more can I say.  I will add this book recommendation to
tools/FAQ_DEV.  The book is not cheap, at ~$90.

The book is "Transaction Processing:  Concepts and Techniques," by Jim
Gray and Andreas Reuter, Morgan Kaufmann publishers, ISBN 1-55860-190-2.


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