This is an excellent book covering MySQL in great detail.I did buy this book not because I want to be certified, but because I wanted to have detailed information about MySQL version 5 and all the new functionality it has. I am certainly not disappointed.There are useful examples for every subject covered and the book is much more readable than the online MySQL manual.This is not a book for beginners or a book about designing a relational database. If you want to learn SQL or database design you should look elsewhere.