Beginning SQL Server 2000 Programming

Beginning SQL Server 2000 Programming
by Robin Dewson
Copyright 2001
Apress

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If you have read through some of the other book reviews I have written, you will notice that time and time again, I keep recommending the book, Professional SQL Server 2000 Programming by Robert Vieira. This is because I feel it is the best book on the market on SQL Server 2000 Transact-SQL programming. The only caveat I have made about this book is that it is not designed for beginners. You already need to know SQL Server 2000 Transact-SQL basics before you can get the most good from this book.

Now, this problem is solved. The same publisher of Vieira's book, Wrox Press, has now published the perfect introductory book to SQL Server 2000 Transact-SQL programming, and as you might expect, it is called Beginning SQL Server 2000 Programming.

This book is designed to teach people new to SQL Server 2000 programming the basics of Transact-SQL, along with providing some of the key basics of SQL Server administration. If you are new to SQL Server 2000, then this book is a very good start, and you will want to read it all. If you already have the administrative aspects of SQL Server mastered, you may want to skip the introductory administrative-related chapters in the book, and focus on the Transact-SQL programming aspects of it.

As you might expect for a beginner's book, the author focuses on just what you need to know to get you started, without confusing you with more advanced material, which you will learn later once you have mastered the basics.

In this book, you will cover these topics:

• SQL Server 2000 Installation

• Managing SQL Server

• Query Analyzer

• Database Analysis and Design

• Creating the Sample Database

• Defining Tables

• Creating Indexes

• Building Relationships

• Diagramming the Database

• Database Backups and Recovery

• Maintaining Your Database

• Inserting Data

• Retrieving Data

• Updating Data and Transactions

• Deleting Data

• Building a View

• Stored Procedures

• Advanced Stored Procedures

• XML and Data Retrieval

• Triggers

The book is tutorial-based, with lots of examples. In addition, you learn how to perform many tasks using GUI tools, such as Enterprise Manger and Query Analyzer, along with how to perform the same tasks using code only. Although it is a little short on SQL Server performance-related content, it does cover the basics of optimizing indexes, which is important for the beginner to master.

I highly recommend this book for DBAs who already know the administrative side of SQL Server and who now want to more about the development side. And I also recommend it to developers who are learning how to use SQL Server as their back-end database. This is especially true if you are a VB or ASP developer who needs to use SQL Server as their back-end database.