Create memorable presentations on technical and complex topics in slideware such as Microsoft PowerPoint and Apple's Keynote for Mac. Learn good pacing and rhythm as well as judicious use of special effects. Whether the goal is to help a sale or to educate, and whether the final delivery is a live presentation, a webinar, or a short video presentation, this book focuses on the particular difficulties linked to technical presentations. You will learn to create a story when there is none, gain the interest of an audience who may not feel as strongly for the topic as the speaker does, turn abstract concepts into visual models, overcome the limitations of the medium (limited space, two dimensions), maintain interest through rhythm, and use effects, not to look cool or get that "WOW" moment, but to serve the message. Getting The Message Across presents a number of field-tested ideas for raising interest. The use of various techniques and careful scripting will help you, even if you aren't a natural-born show-person, to communicate effectively, and to make your audience remember your message, and not necessarily your slides. This book will teach you: Rhythm and animations, and the use of transitions To hold audience interest even with "dry" topics To create memorable presentations Techniques useful for PowerPoint, Keynote for Mac, and any similar presentation medium or environment What You Will Learn Turn austere topics into interesting stories. Give rhythm and pacing to your presentations. Build a narrative during transitions and animations. Hold audience interest and make listeners feel clever. Make people remember your presentation rather than your cool use of slideware. Who This Book Is For People who have to communicate effectively on strongly technical topics. This book targets educators and trainers as well as technical consultants who need to present complex solutions to customers or leads, as well as would-be speakers at scientific or technical conferences. Getting The Message Across is a book for people who want to make their presentations not only more attractive, but really memorable. It is for people who aren't looking for a standing ovation, but who are willing to do what they can to be understood and to make their messages remembered. Getting The Message Across focuses on using slideware such as PowerPoint and Keynote. Such slideware, for all its flaws, is still one of the best ways to communicate, not only live, but also in dematerialized communications (webinars, video tutorials) for reaching an ever-growing audience.

For all the buzz about trendy IT techniques, data processing is still at the core of our systems, especially now that enterprises all over the world are confronted with exploding volumes of data. Database performance has become a major headache, and most IT departments believe that developers should provide simple SQL code to solve immediate problems and let DBAs tune any "bad SQL" later.

In "The Art of SQL," author and SQL expert Stephane Faroult argues that this "safe approach" only leads to disaster. His insightful book, named after Art of War by Sun Tzu, contends that writing quick inefficient code is sweeping the dirt under the rug. SQL code may run for 5 to 10 years, surviving several major releases of the database management system and on several generations of hardware. The code must be fast and sound from the start, and that requires a firm understanding of SQL and relational theory.

"The Art of SQL" offers best practices that teach experienced SQL users to focus on strategy rather than specifics. Faroult's approach takes a page from Sun Tzu's classic treatise by viewing database design as a military campaign. You need knowledge, skills, and talent. Talent can't be taught, but every strategist from Sun Tzu to modern-day generals believed that it can be nurtured through the experience of others. They passed on their experience acquired in the field through basic principles that served as guiding stars amid the sound and fury of battle. This is what Faroult does with SQL.

Like a successful battle plan, good architectural choices are based on contingencies. What if the volume of this or that table increases unexpectedly? What if, following a merger, the numberof users doubles? What if you want to keep several years of data online? Faroult's way of looking at SQL performance may be unconventional and unique, but he's deadly serious about writing good SQL and using SQL well. "The Art of SQL" is not a cookbook, listing problems and giving recipes. The aim is to get you-and your manager-to raise good questions.

What can you do when database performance doesn't meet expectations? Before you turn to expensive hardware upgrades to solve the problem, reach for this book. "Refactoring SQL Applications" provides a set of tested options for making code modifications to dramatically improve the way your database applications function. Backed by real-world examples, you'll find quick fixes for simple problems, in-depth answers for more complex situations, and complete solutions for applications with extensive problems.In this work, learn to: determine if and where you can expect performance gains; apply quick fixes, such as limiting calls to the database in stored functions and procedures; refactor tasks, such as replacing application code by a stored procedure, or replacing iterative, procedural statements with sweeping SQL statements; refactor flow by increasing parallelism and switching business-inducted processing from synchronous to asynchronous; refactor design using schema extensions, regular views, materialized views, partitioning, and more; and, compare before and after versions of a program to ensure you get the same results once you make modifications. "Refactoring SQL Applications" teaches you to recognize and assess code that needs refactoring, and to understand the crucial link between refactoring and performance. If and when your application bogs down, this book will help you get it back up to speed.

SQL Success is about problem-solving in SQL. It bridges the gap between dry and dull database theory books, and developer books that focus on giving recipes without explaining sufficiently the reasons behind the recipes or discussing alternative solutions. Many developers struggle with SQL due to the contrast between the top-down logic of most programming languages and SQL's set-based approach. SQL Success aims to be different. This book is more than syntax examples. SQL Success explains how to use SQL to solve problems, and covers syntax in the process-not as the focus, but as a tool toward accomplishing the objective. SQL Success also shows something that most other books do not: the pitfalls and traps of SQL, a deceptively simple language, and how easy it is to get a query wrong. Written in a conversational way, SQL Success talks about logic more than theory, avoids jargon, and refers to common-sense more than rules. It ignores features that are rarely used and tries to avoid information overload. The intention of SQL Success is not to cover every aspect of all variants of SQL. The goal is to cover everything that is of practical use. That goal is informed by the author's many years of practical experience leading an understanding of what professional developers need to know, the common mistakes that are made, and how those mistakes can be avoided. * Focuses on the practical implications of theory. * Emphasizes accuracy and efficiency. * Teaches how to "think SQL," not merely the syntax. * Applies to Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, DB2, and SQLite. * Suitable for college-level database courses, SQL certification preparation, and professionals who want to take their database skills to the next level. * Bolstered by downloadable files and online database with practice exercises at http: //edu.konagora.com. * Includes resources for instructors. About the author: Stephane Faroult has been performing database consultancy work for more than a quarter of a century with major French companies; he taught Computer Science undergraduates a long time ago and many professional developers since then. He is the author of two professional books, The Art of SQL and Refactoring SQL Applications (both by O'Reilly). SQL Success is a prequel to those books, giving readers a strong foundation in SQL.