The title says it all. This book is about the fundamentals of T-SQL, Microsoft SQL Server’s SQL dialect. For advanced stuff the author refers to his other outstanding books “T-SQL Programming” & “T-SQL Querying”. But although the fundamentals are discussed, this book is also recommendable for advanced users as reference.
Unlike many other books about SQL the author does not start right away with explaining the SELECT statement, but rather dedicates the first chapter to the fundamentals of relational database theory. This knowledge is thereafter used in the following chapters to explain the general concepts of working with sets. This starts with basic concepts and continues with more complex topics such as Pivot queries or Common Table Expressions. Transactions and concurrency are also covered as well as data modification.
All topics are intended for self-studying with exercises and solutions at the end of each chapter. The reader can download all samples and sources from the MS Press website.
Some of the more advanced parts are marked as such, but by working through the book the reader gains a small insight into how powerful the T-SQL language can be, even if it appears to be simple at first sight.