Learn about databases by doing – multiple exercises from beginning through intermediate database creation are clearly presented in a logical framework. Once the student has mastered the creation of databases the book explores the possibility of changes in requirements that will force structural changes to databases and how the student can make good use of some maintenance features and processing issues that may need to be resolved in production databases. Finally the book focuses on some exercises that will give the student a feel for some of the newer capabilities in object relational databases.