Murach’s SQL Server 2008 for Developers

eBook Details:

• Paperback: 748 pages
• Publisher: WOW! eBook & Associates; 3rd edition (November 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781890774516
• ISBN-13: 978-1890774516

eBook Description:

Murach’s SQL Server 2008 for Developers

When we published the first edition of this book, we heard from plenty of developers who were just starting out using Microsoft SQL Server and found this to be a great book for training.

But we also heard from a lot of experienced developers who read it and were amazed to discover how much they didn’t know about SQL. That’s why we’ve dubbed this book “the SQL book that most developers don’t even know they need.”

So whether you’re new to SQL…or whether you’ve been squeaking by with the SQL you know, never realizing how much you’re missing out on…this is the book for you.

This book is designed to teach application developers all of the skills they need to use SQL to work with a Microsoft SQL Server 2008 database. But it’s also a great first book for developers who are on the path to becoming a DBA.

Unlike most SQL Server 2008 books, this one starts by showing you how to use SQL queries to extract and update the data in a database, because that’s what every application developer needs to know first. Then, it shows how to design and implement a database, how to use powerful backend database features like views, stored procedures, functions, triggers, cursors, transactions, locking, security, and how to work with BLOB and XML data. Finally, it shows how to use the CLR integration feature to create database objects using a .NET language such as C# or Visual Basic.

For example, you’ll learn:

• How to create complex inner and outer joins, summary queries, and subqueries that do more of the database processing for you so that your applications can do less
• What the different data types are and how to handle the common problems you run into with various types of data
• How to work with XML data
• How to take advantage of powerful backend database features like views, scripts, stored procedures, and triggers
• How to deal with database control features like cursors, transactions, and locking
• The basics of database design and implementation using the Management Studio or SQL DDL statements (you can write more efficient queries when you know something about how databases are set up…and you can start to see what your DBA has to think about, if that’s a career path that interests you)
• How to use the CLR integration feature to create database objects using C# or Visual Basic code

What’s NEW in this 2008 edition

This new edition now covers the 2008 features that make a developer’s job easier:

• The FILESTREAM storage feature allows you to work more efficiently with binary large objects (BLOBs) such as image, sound, and video files.
• The MERGE statement allows you to use a single statement to make multiple updates and insertions.
• The date, time, datetime2, and datetimeoffset data types give you more flexibility and precision for working with dates and times.
• The user-defined table type allows you to pass a table as a parameter to a stored procedure or a function – a feat that previously required custom coding and often resulted in code that was difficult to maintain.
• In terms of database design, the SPARSE attribute can help you work with NULL values more efficiently, and filtered indexes can allow you to retrieve data more quickly.

Beyond that, this book covers many other 2008 features that you’ll find useful in specific situations. And, of course, the code presented in this book has been thoroughly updated and tested against SQL Server 2008.

Ready to master all of this?

Then let SQL Server 2008 for Developers quickly boost you to a new level of competence and professionalism.

From the publisher

The SQL book that most developers don’t even know they need that’s how I think of this book.

To be an effective application developer, you need to master SQL for the database you re going to be using. But many developers get by with the SQL they know, never realizing how much they’re missing out on.

So this is first of all a book for developers who use Microsoft SQL Server as their DBMS (though it can help you if you want to master standard SQL, too). No matter how much SQL experience you have, you’ll find new features that you haven’t been taking advantage of.

In section 1, you ll learn the concepts and terms you need for working with any database. You ll also learn how to use the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Management Studio to work with queries and databases. At that point, you ll be prepared for rapid progress as you learn SQL.

In section 2, you ll learn all the skills for retrieving data from a database and for adding, updating, merging, and deleting that data. These skills move from the simple to the complex so you won t have any trouble if you re a SQL novice. And they present skills like using outer joins, summary queries, and subqueries that will raise your SQL expertise if you do have SQL experience.

In section 3, you ll learn how to design a database and how to implement that design using either SQL DDL (Data Definition Language) statements or the Management Studio. When you re done, you ll be able to design and implement your own databases. But even if you re never called upon to do that, this section will give you perspective that will make you a better SQL developer.

Section 4 presents the skills for working with database features like views, stored procedures, functions, triggers, cursors, transactions, and security. It teaches you how to use SQL features to work with XML data. And it shows you how to use the 2008 FILESTREAM storage feature to work with binary large objects (BLOBs) such as image, sound, and video files. These are the features that give a DBMS much of its power and that give you an extra edge in your SQL skills.

To complete your SQL Server skills, section 5 shows you how to use the CLR integration feature. This feature allows you to create database objects like stored procedures and user-defined types using a .NET language like C# or Visual Basic.

About the Author

Joel Murach has been writing and editing books about computer programming for over 10 years. During that time, he has written extensively on a wide range of Java, .NET, web, and database technologies. When he’s not programming or writing books about programming, he can be found surfing or writing music.

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