I can't say whether Steve Martin's book "The Real Story of Informix Software & Phil White" is the real story or not, but it is an interesting read for those who are curious about the rise and fall of Informix.  Steve Martin was one of the bright shining lights at Informix helping to propel the company to revenue growth from $100 million to over a billion and a market cap of five billion.  However, as almost everyone knows, Informix unraveled in a series of blunders ranging from the acquisition of object-database technology Illustra to allegations of …

I can't say whether Steve Martin's book "The Real Story of Informix Software & Phil White" is the real story or not, but it is an interesting read for those who are curious about the rise and fall of Informix.  Steve Martin was one of the bright shining lights at Informix helping to propel the company to revenue growth from $100 million to over a billion and a market cap of five billion.  However, as almost everyone knows, Informix unraveled in a series of blunders ranging from the acquisition of object-database technology Illustra to allegations of …

Ben Forta sent me a copy of his latest book: MySQL Crash Course a book based on his: Teach yourself SQL in 10 minutes book.

MySQL Crash Course is a concise guide (it's actually about the size of a novel, but 300 pages) to MySQL. I am a big fan of short and to the point books. Good job keeping it short Ben, I know you have written some hefty ones. ;)

The book doesn't focus on the system administration of MySQL, but rather the programming side of things - SQL.

I think this book would be great for someone who doesn't do a …

I had dinner with Dan Woods, CEO of EvolvedMedia Network and author of "Open Source for the Enterprise" along with a few other folks from the Eclipse foundation and Stephen Walli from Optaros at the Gartner Open Source conference in Orlando last week.  Dan gave the closing keynote presentation at the conference.  Not only was Dan the best dressed presenter (admittedly, not hard to do at an IT …

So I did one of those decadent actions I do every so often. I went to bed last night, started a book, got some sleep, and then finished the book this morning. I received Connie Willis's Bellwether in the mail on Friday (thank you Michelle!), and decided to just read it. This is the first time I knew someone who used my Amazon Wishlist. Normally I just get books from strangers who are thankful for source code I release (mod_layout seems to be the software that people are most thankful for).

I liked the book though it was a bit outside of my normal definition for Science Fiction. There really wasn't much of a science fiction angle to it. The math was all statistical in nature, and the comments on chaos theory weren't all that profound. The main character rattles off facts constantly, and about midway through the book I was waiting for the plot to get going. Willis could have shortened the beginning and spent more time on the main two …

As has been noted on Amazon.com, I a working with Sams Publishing on the MySQL Phrasebook - a compact reference for novice or occasional users of MySQL.

Here is a snippet from the introduction:

If MySQL is a foreign land, then the MySQL Phrasebook is a concise guide to successfully navigating its broad streets, hectic bazaars and dark alleys. Whether you're a tourist, a regular visitor or even a local day-tripping to an unknown locale, this Phrasebook will help you find your way.

The Phrasebook is not a definitive guide to all aspects of MySQL. Instead, it provides examples of how to accomplish some of the most common tasks in MySQL. This core of practical knowledge …